Writing Letters of Recommendation - Pace University

writers actually feel less inhibited in their praise of students in confidential letters. While making these points, be sure to make it

clear that it is up to the student to decide.

taught/worked with a student, while your impressions are still vivid and fresh. You might consider encouraging students to make

their requests early, rather than waiting until senior year or beyond. These early letters can be maintained in your own files for

future reference.

FORMAT/WHAT TO INCLUDE

Start by describing how long you've known the person and in what capacity. Include dates of courses the student has taken with

you or dates of employment with your company and details on how you have interacted with the person. Continue by describing

the person's skills and performance and what makes them an ideal candidate for a potential new employer or for graduate

Promptly identify yourself and the basis of your knowledge of the student: Was s/he a student in your class, seminar, a

teaching assistant? Did you supervise this person in a working environment or were you a peer colleague? Has your

acquaintance been sustained over a number of years? Writing the letter on department/company letterhead is a further

form of identification.

In evaluating a student's intellectual capabilities, try to describe the student in terms that reflect that student's distinctive

or individual strengths. How well does the applicant organize his/her thoughts and communicate them? What evidence is

there of his/her judgment, reliability, organizational ability and analytical skills? Whatever strengths strike you as

particularly salient, be prepared to back up your judgment with concrete examples - papers, exams, class presentations,

or performance on a project.

Present the individual's general qualities relevant to the position along with one or two detailed examples. Be objective

of a problem if a student is unambiguously among the top five or ten percent that you have taught, or so outstanding

that he or she would safely rank high in any group. Many of the students who come to you for a letter, however, will not

fall within that small unambiguous group. If you wish to offer some comparative perspective, you might be more readily

able to do so in more specific areas: Is the student one of the most articulate? original? clear-thinking? motivated?

intellectually curious? Some schools or fellowships have forms which ask for rankings broken down into specific areas.

Avoid the misconception that the more superlatives that you use, the stronger the letter. Heavy use of stock phrases or

cliches in general is unhelpful. Your letter can only be effective if it contains substantive information about the student's

qualifications.

If you lack sufficient information to answer some questions posed or suggested in an application, it is best to maintain the

integrity and credibility of your letter, and say only what you are in a position to say.

circumstances upon which you base this opinion.

Your letter should conclude with a brief summation, giving the main thrust of your recommendation for the candidate.

Common problems that can detract from the overall usability of a letter of recommendation

It contains school-specific references or is otherwise inappropriate for multiple audiences

There is an incorrect spelling of the student’s name or multiple spellings of the name within the same letter

Multiple names are listed in the body of the letter, indicating a cut and paste effort from a previously written letter