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Tips for Letters of Recommendation
- Be sure you want to recommend this student.
- Discuss a student’s academic plans and preparation before agreeing to write a recommendation.
- Help student choose graduate programs that match interests, skills, and preparation.
- Consider declining some so you can do a better job on others.
- Get enough data to do your job.
- Transcript and/or list of classes in major
- Graded work sample: paper or lab
- Resume or c.v. – list of honors and awards
- Some idea of what the student would like you to focus on
- Letter of recommendation form from the target grad school
- Assemble a laundry list of basic skills; assume nothing.
- For example: “_____ has command of coherent wave optics, Fourier optics, laser physics, lens design, optical metrology, optics of thin films, paraxial optics, physical optics, and all related areas of physics.”
- Describe a particularly successful project.
- The candidate needs to be special, out of the ordinary (or, presumably, you shouldn’t be recommending him/her).
- Find one or more “above and beyond” stories to focus on.
- Mention student experience as proctor, TA, RA, tutor, other forms of departmental service.
- Get personal when appropriate.
- Has the student overcome adversity – work, first generation, health or family, special challenges? You can be candidate’s advocate on these issues, which is more sophisticated than having the student address them.
- Do you enjoy having this student in your classes?
- Close by predicting success, for example:
- “One of the top students I’ve worked with in recent years.”
- “Razor-sharp mind.”
- “Tremendous potential.”
- “More than adequately prepared.”
- “I am confident that _____ will be an outstanding graduate student and go on to make major contributions in the field through both research and teaching.”
- Abandon the form and customize.
- On the form, fill out your name and the student’s, perhaps, but no more, then attach the form to your much-superior letter.
Sample Letter of Recommendation
“Reprinted with permission from Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way Into the Graduate School of Your Choice by Donald Asher. Copyright © 1991, 2000 by Donald Asher, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA, Available from your local bookseller, or order by calling 800-841-2665 or visiting www.tenspeed.com.”
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