Writing (Your Own) Letters of Recommendation
What is the purpose of a letter of recommendation?
A letter of recommendation is
“expert testimony” regarding the ability of a person to perform a task. The tasks may include performing a job,
succeeding in graduate school, or profiting from a particular experience (such
as foreign study/travel). This purpose
is the ultimate reason for a letter of recommendation; everything in the letter
supports the act of making an informed
recommendation.
An informed recommendation is no
small matter for the letter writer.
Graduate programs, for instance, make very clear they need letters which
comment on a student’s likelihood of succeeding in graduate school. Letter writers must be confident of the
applicant’s ability or they are unable to write convincingly. There is some risk to professional
credibility if the writer consistently writes letters for applicants who are
not qualified.
Further, there is a kind of
“code” for levels of confidence.
Generally speaking, there are four levels of confidence as suggested by
graduate school forms themselves: strongly recommend (writer is very confident
of the applicant’s ability); recommend (writer is confident); recommend with
reservations (writer is somewhat confident, but has specific areas of doubt);
do not recommend (writer does not believe in applicant’s ability to
succeed). Letter writers use these
phrases at the beginning or end of the letter to express their professional
evaluation. Applicants should not ask
writers who cannot support them at the first two levels of confidence to write
letters on their behalf.
What kinds of letters of rec. are there?
There are two basic types of rec.
letters: 1) “field specific/expert” and 2) “character/non-expert”. The “field specific” letter writer is an
“industry expert” within the applicant’s field – a restaurant manager can give
an industry perspective on whether an applicant should be able to succeed in
the restaurant business. A science
professor provides specific feedback on a future scientist’s likelihood of
success in the field.
A “character” letter is usually
written by someone who is outside or on the fringe of the applicant’s industry. This person comments on other traits the
applicant possesses that should lead to success. A “character” letter is still an expert’s
testimony; in this case, the expert comes from outside the applicant’s intended
field. Character letters often come from
volunteer or work supervisors, internships, outside professors.
Very often, academic programs ask
the applicant to provide 2-3 letters from field specific experts and 1
character-type letter. Job applicants,
on the other hand, usually rely solely on field expertise, except at the
beginning of their careers, when character-type letters are all the experience
they’ve got!
Character letters should not come
from someone who is not qualified to make an informed, expert
recommendation. School counselors and
pastors may know you well, but are not usually able to comment convincingly on your
likelihood to survive the rigors of medical school.
What makes a letter of recommendation successful?
A letter of recommendation
succeeds on the same merits as any forms of persuasive writing: good control of
vocabulary, solid essay structure, appropriate content, and details details
details.
What is the format of a letter of recommendation?
Letters of recommendations are
official documents, therefore are written on professional letterhead in
business style. This means appropriate
addressing, block flush-left paragraphs, appropriate greetings and closings, 11
pt. TNR font. Generally speaking, the
letter should not exceed one page in length unless the recommender has a long
association with applicant. When
possible, letters should be written on organizational letterhead; many programs
actually require this.
Letters are written for specific
programs for specific purposes. This
must be taken into account when reading a letter. On the other hand, a couple of actual
examples should make better models than a generic, non-real one. Below are examples, divided according to
basic sections of the letter: intro, body, close. Comments in red offer explanation.
[written
on university letterhead, therefore, no writer address is offered]
February 26, 2007 [date is either flush
left or right, one space up from or across from addressee]
To: Junior Honors Medical Program, Admissions Committee [addressee]
Fr: Recommender, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer [recommender’s name,
title/position]
Re: Letter of Recommendation, Applicant [purpose, applicant’s
name and ID # if provided]
Dear JHMP Admissions Committee, [greeting – usually to personnel director or admissions
committee]
Each time I receive a request to
write a letter of recommendation for the JHMP, I challenge the student to
explain why they believe this advanced track is of actual benefit to them and
what they’ve got to contribute to the program.
I rarely get a satisfying answer.
Sometimes the student just leaves, choosing not to accept the task of
producing a persuasive reason before I’ll agree to write a letter on their
behalf. Occasionally, the student takes
the question to heart, does some soul-searching, and returns with a really good
explanation. Such is the case with
Applicant. His intelligence is without
question. What distinguishes him from
his peers is where he wants to end up in the medical field and why. This is also where Applicant can make an
excellent contribution to the Junior Honors Medical Program. [opening salvo is a
bit different – recommender knows the applicant better than usual and has an
actual history with recommending applicants to the program; partially this
establishes credibility and partially it makes for a more interesting opening
line – still, the opening sentences are TRUE; it is not a fabrication – always
stay honest in writing letters. Finally,
the last two sentences do set up the rest of the essay – the recommender must
provide evidence for the contribution and why it is unique]
 |
To: Graduate Admissions Committee
Fr: Recommender, Ph.D.
Re: Letter of Recommendation,
Applicant, application for M.S.W.
Dear Graduate Admissions
Committee,
Applicant was a student in my
“Professional Communication in Sociology” class, Fall 2004. My initial impression was that Applicant was
a very quiet, even demure, individual with less self-confidence than I like to
see in my students. And while it’s true
that Applicant is not a rowdy character, she blossomed in class as she saw her
ideas bear fruit in a very interesting piece of research. When I last met with Applicant, she was a
happy, confident young woman who is excited about her future goals. I believe Applicant will make an excellent
graduate student and social worker. She
is intelligent and hard working, with a good feel for social issues, and a
warm, empathetic smile that will put clients at ease. [a more standard
introduction – explains context of relationship, gives some basic information,
makes a statement of confidence regarding student, and provides basis for
organization of essay in final sentence of intro]
 |
To: Law School Admissions Committee
Fr: Recommender, Ph.D.
Re: Letter of Recommendation,
Applicant, # L1234567
Dear Law School Admissions
Committee,
My acquaintance with Applicant
began in the course, Professional Communication in Sociology, Spring 2005,
where Applicant proved herself an exceptional student. Our relationship continued as I became a
last-minute mentor for her McNair Scholarship research project. Through both of these experiences, Applicant
showed excellent qualities for advanced work – she was hard-working,
intelligent, ambitious, and even delightful to work with. [pretty standard
opening for a positive recommendation]
Applicant was a student in my
Spring 2006 “Writing and Speaking for Premedical Students”. This is a challenging course requiring both
individual and collaborative work.
Further, the class requires research be conducted with primary sources
(no WebMD allowed). Because of family history, Applicant chose to
do his individual work on treatment for low back pain using acupuncture and
acupressure. Applicant did an excellent
job on the paper itself. He formatted
appropriately, made good use of the medical literature, and presented a clear
review of the material. What I most
appreciated about his paper was the care he took to remain neutral regardless
of how much he wanted to believe in the medical value of these therapies. In fact, he found good evidence for the
efficacy of alternative therapies; he also found how difficult it was to assess
these methods given the standards of western science and practice of eastern
medicine. [specific example within recommender’s area
of expertise – also provides means to comment on other character/intellectual
qualities in order to set up argument for positive recommendation]
 |
Professional Communication in
Sociology is a demanding upper-level class requiring students to conduct
original research—from coming up with a testable idea, designing a feasible
(IRB exempt) study, carrying out the research and analysis, to writing up a
professional quality report and finishing with an in-class poster presentation. Applicant was more highly prepared than the
usual student. She had a strong idea of
what she wanted to know and was ready to begin source searching immediately. She separated herself from the pack yet again
by turning in a 7 page literature review, complete with appropriate
subheadings. Applicant’s research
questioned public perception of criminal insanity. She designed a clever survey which yielded
some interesting data, specifically, that her sample (mostly college students)
admitted to having little contact with mentally incompetent people, yet felt
mentally ill people were both common and dangerous, that they should be
institutionalized yet were competent to stand trial. Applicant’s project showcased her interest in
legal matters, and a mind capable of ferreting out subtle, important
perceptions regarding lay perceptions of law. [body
paragraph with explanation, examples, details, and what reader should
understand about applicant]
|
Applicant’s choice of topic and
understanding of the results also showcases an intuitive understanding of
social issues and realities. Applicant
understood there was a difference between the way people perceived an event
(explained their experiences to themselves) and the way they actually behaved
when engaged in the event. I was
impressed by her ease with this concept, though she did struggle somewhat
initially when trying to reconcile what she found in the literature with her
own perceptions. Part of doing research
is learning intellectual stances, and Applicant came to understand how to
express herself in academic terms. All
in all, her learning curve in the class was remarkable. This is one reason why I feel confident of
her abilities to succeed in graduate study.
[body paragraph with explanation, examples,
details, and what reader should understand about applicant]
Writing in CSD is a challenging,
upper division course whose goals are to prepare students for the kinds of
writing done in graduate school and the field of speech therapy. Students write a review paper, a S.O.A.P.
note, and a Progress Report. Each
assignment offers a different challenge.
For her Review paper, Applicant wrote on the impact of premature birth
on language development. The challenge
of this assignment is classic to academics and the beginning researcher:
finding sources and synthesizing them.
Most undergraduate students have relatively little experience reading
journal articles and even less experience finding them. Applicant did very well
on this assignment. The annotated bibliography she prepared was outstanding,
and I will be using her entries as examples in future classes. The paper itself was well-written,
well-researched, and written in appropriate academic style. More importantly, Applicant made a point of
drafting the paper early enough to get feedback, and then took the critique to
heart. This kind of attention to
scholarship and performance bodes well for her success in graduate school. [body paragraph with explanation, examples, details, and what
reader should understand about applicant]
|
The first writing project for
this class is a review paper. Applicant
chose to review a type of heart injury following concussive injury. It was a longish, fairly technical paper, but
well-written and excellently researched.
His presentation – assigned as a brief, 5-6 minute oral report – also
included a power point presentation which ended up being something of a
distraction. Allow me to clarify: it was
a very good presentation, but the inclusion of audio-visual support when it was
not recommended made the presentation too long and complicated for its
purpose. This is an element of
Applicant’s ambitious nature. He is
highly intelligent and sometimes must learn by harsh experience rather than
through straightforward instruction. The
pedagogical purpose behind the presentation was for students to learn how to
communicate medical ideas using just words, since that is often how the
information gets relayed. Applicant
enjoys technology, though, and he is still learning the boundaries of when it
is useful. His sheer pleasure in the use
of equipment will make him a fine researcher.
[example of body paragraph with both positive
and negative traits; setting up for a “problem” that will culminate in a
“recommend with reservations” level of confidence]
Body Paragraphs Attesting to Qualities (can be included in both field expert and “character” letters, but is more common in character/non-expert letters)
For his collaborative project, Applicant
worked with 4 other students who chose to go with his main idea for the paper:
“The Many Faces of Discogenic Back Pain Treatment.” In doing so, Applicant emerged as a
leader. In fact, this was a difficult
task as it was not a completely harmonious group. I was proud that Applicant took the lead in
being honest about the dysfunction, and consulted with instructors on how to
best handle it. It is never easy to lead
peers, and Applicant did a good job of being fair yet firm in order to guide
his group to success. In addition, he
was also challenged to expand his own interests as the paper included western
surgical and non-surgical treatments. In
the end, Applicant found himself at a crossroads which motivated him to really
begin questioning how to effectively test and measure alternative therapies. This is where his desire for the JHMP is
centered: he sees himself as a medical
practitioner who must be trained in both conventional therapies and alternative
therapies; one who must embrace both technology and tradition. To do so effectively is going to take a
while, and he is ready to begin now. For
this reason, I believe the JHMP is a fair route for him to travel. [Example of opportunity to talk about other aspects of
professional success: leadership,
communication abilities, ability to develop as an intellect]
|
As stated, Applicant’s research
showed important contradictions in public understanding of mental competency
and criminal behavior. In addition to
working on writing and poster presentations, we also spent time speculating
where these contradictions might come from.
During these discussions, Applicant showed her ability to think
carefully about complex behavior. She
was able to muse intelligently without jumping to conclusions. Also, her own thinking generated more
questions and excitement about her research project, which is a good sign that
she’ll be able to maintain longer term, more complex projects. While being her project mentor, I was pleased
with Applicant’s “professional” communication skills. During her presentation, she was questioned
intensively by one professor, and handled the grilling smoothly and
calmly. She understood both the
strengths and limitations of her own work, which bodes well for her abilities
to handle legal work. I was also
impressed by her dedication – when she veered off her goal, she quickly got
back on track. [Example
of opportunity to talk about other aspects of professional success: leadership, communication abilities, ability
to develop as an intellect]
Applicant’s interest in
alternative and “traditional” medicine is also why he’d make an excellent
contribution to the program. He’s a
really smart guy with a deep interest in two diverse approaches. He embraces the rigors of western science
while understanding the idiosyncrasies common to alternative therapies. He feels the conflict between the classic
double-blind randomized control group study and individualized therapeutic
approaches. Best of all, he wants
ultimately to become a medical practitioner who knows the value of both and can
lead patients toward the best health possible.
I’d value John as my own physician, and would gladly take my family to
him or his practice. I strongly
recommend that Applicant be accepted into the Junior Honors Medical
Program. He will benefit from the early
start, and the program will get a fresh perspective. If I can be of further help, please contact
me at 555-5555 or recommender@here.edu. [note: hyperlink has been removed so letter prints in one
color or is received electronically w/out outside links] [ strongly positive
recommendation – some “summary” given content, emphasis on qualities, link made
to benefit of both applicant and program, appropriate language used for
recommendation]
Sincerely, [standard close]
[3 spaces
in between farewell and name so it can be signed]
Recommender, Degree,
Position/Title
Finally, in addition to
intelligence and perseverance, Applicant is a really nice person to work
with. She is mature and up-beat, takes
responsibility for her decisions, has a terrific smile and energetic
personality. Personally, I feel these
additional “non-academic” qualities are nearly as important as scholarly
abilities. In Applicant, I believe any
law program will get the complete package: ambition balanced with compassion;
intelligence edged with humor; scholarship enhanced by strong interpersonal
skills. I strongly recommend Applicant
be accepted into your law program. [another example of
a strong positive recommendation – note that you can use some of those
humanities writing skills mostly untapped in scientific prose!]
Perhaps Applicant’s strongest
attribute is determination. As his
resume shows, he has participated in a number of research projects at various
levels. He has the sort of appreciation
for research expected in an MSTP applicant. Applicant will make a contribution
to the field of medicine, and I believe he will develop solidly as both a
clinician and a scientist. For these
reasons, I recommend him for acceptance into medical school. [middle
recommendation – recommender did not have a particularly strong relationship to
applicant and was neither enthusiastic or negative regarding applicant –
problem is this kind of recommendation is not very useful to either applicant
or admissions committee – applicant must rely on test scores and other letters
for success – highlights the importance of choosing recommenders wisely]
This has left me somewhat
ambivalent regarding this letter, despite the fact I agreed to write it. For his part, Applicant insists that he
wishes to become a clinical practitioner in order to “help people.” I believe this to be true. But I am not sure what kind of “people
training” the JHMP provides. For other
applicants, with more mature communication skills, this has not really been an
issue. For Applicant, though, it is a
concern. He needs to learn how to talk
to real people, face to face. If this is
something the JHMP can provide, then I recommend him for admission into the
program. He has much to contribute, and
also much to learn. [a slightly hedged “recommend with
reservations” conclusion – in fact, recommender did not believe applicant to be
qualified or ready for program; even after discussing this fact with applicant,
applicant still chose to go ahead with the process; applicant did not get in].
The same strategies for writing a
letter for someone else apply when you are requested to write one for yourself
which the “recommender” will sign. Here
are some steps to help the process.
Step One: Consider carefully what the recommender can
truthfully, reasonably say about you.
While it is always possible for any recommender to note qualities about
you, mostly, recommenders stay within their areas of expertise.
Step Two: Muse upon your experiences with the
recommender and list the specific examples and qualities this person can
comment on. Write out “little stories”
from your experience with the recommender than can illustrate the qualities you
want them to attest to.
Step Three: Select the strongest items from Step Two to
include in the letter. Write out the
whole paragraph including the “what the reader should learn” part. Make sure to include the context and length
of the relationship in paragraph one.
Step Four: Put it all together in the correct format!
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