Make certain to establish that we have faculty whose academic interest or specialization matches your own. For example, if you state in your application you want to study ancient Rome or medieval Italy, we would eliminate your application immediately because we don’t have a faculty member at present who specializes in either of those subjects, and it would be irresponsible to admit you.
It is wise to be in contact with specific faculty members you’ve identified as potential advisors or mentors, and mention this explicitly in your statement of purpose. Ask them if they are in fact taking on new students. Faculty who plan to retire or take new jobs will not accept new students, so your application will be rejected for that reason.
Write the statement of purpose with as much specificity and detail as possible. Tell us what you want to study, with whom, and why at the University of Florida. Avoid generalizations about love of history overall that reveal little about the kind of courses and thesis would await such a student.
Letters of recommendation should, ideally, come from faculty members rather than clergy, employers, and so on. These are respectable folks, but faculty members are in the best position to speak to your abilities and potential as a student. The best recommenders will be professors who know your work well and can write about your studies in detail.
The writing sample should be an essay that demonstrates your ability to analyze primary and secondary sources. The writing should be without grammatical or other errors. If you are applying to work in a non-Anglophone country or region, a superior writing sample will demonstrate facility with the relevant research language(s).