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>I took a bunch of writing samples from previous jobs...and then cleaned
them up before printing them out to put in the portfolio.
>I told a friend about this - She thought that was ethically wrong -
>What do others think of this?
Most tech writing jobs ask for "writing samples." Many magazine editors and
book publishers ask for "published clips." There's a difference. Your
reworked samples are still writing samples. Reworking them is an indication
that you know how to adapt your writing to the reader. You also know that
good writing usually means a lot of rewriting. Unless your prospective
employers are asking specifically for published clips, I don't see anything
ethically wrong with what you're doing.