If you interact with students on a regular basis, whether through teaching or research activities, a time will come when a student will ask you for a letter of recommendation. What do you do?
First, when students ask for letter, understand what is being asked of you. What is the letter for? What does the student expect from you? Carefully consider whether you feel that you can write a positive letter. If you feel that you cannot wholeheartedly recommend the student. It is your ethical responsibility to inform him or her that you are not the right person for the job.
What to ask for:
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resume or vita
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transcript
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statement of purpose or other essays
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detailed list of accomplishments
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contacts you have had with the student (course, projects, etc)
Then it is time to write. First, read the application materials for each U.S. university program. Get a feel for what the selection committee is looking for and target your letter accordingly.
Think about the student. What has he or she accomplished? Provide details. How did the student do it? Tell a story about the student and his or her accomplishments. Compare the student with others you have known. Throughout the letter, provide examples illustrating the student’s qualifications.
Potential topics to discuss:
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student’s potential
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student’s goals
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research skills
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contributions to class discussions
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interpersonal skills
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leadership skills
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extracurricular activities
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scholarship (any outstanding papers)
Finally, a good letter addresses any weaknesses in the application and follows up with a discussion of strengths. When a student asks for a letter of recommendation, think carefully about what you are about to undertake. It is a big responsibility, but one with many rewards.
Guidelines for Writing Effective Recommendation Letters
All U.S. institutions request three recommendation letters from applicants to U.S. study programs (both undergraduate and graduate). Some US universities have specific forms for recommenders to fill out. These letters should be written by teachers with whom the student has studied, and/or by employers if the employment was in a professional area in which the applicant now seeks further education.
Although admission officers at U.S. institutions focus on the importance of academic certificates, grades, and test scores, recommendation letters play a major role in providing a qualitative balance to these figures. The complexity of the Indian educational system, the difference between the Indian and the American educational systems, the increasing costs and the high competition of U.S. education, constitute an additional burden for U.S. admission officers in evaluating foreign students. Effective recommendation letters present U.S. institutions with thorough and knowledgeable assessment of foreign students.
The following are additional guidelines for preparing a letter of recommendation:
Course Content and Methods
Write a general statement about the content (topics, themes…) and methods (class discussions, research papers, self-paced projects...) of a specific course given to the student.
Performance
Assess the student’s skills in meeting healthy academic challenge-make specific judgments on the student’s ability to formulate hypotheses, gather relevant evidence, reach sensible if not novel conclusions, articulate concepts of the course. On paper and in oral conversations. Comment on his/her ability to deal with evidence in conventional and in creative ways (Does the student enjoy the process of learning?)
State precisely where the student stands academically in relation to the other students in class. What are his/her specific strengths in the course, in writing, in research, and in discussion as compared to his/her peers. Give examples whenever possible.
Attitude Toward Learning
Assess the student’s interest, motivation, commitment, curiosity, independence and general educability. Is there evidence of a positive approach, a willingness to share ideas and information with others?
Uniqueness
Identify strengths of personal character. What kind of a relationship does the student seem to have with his/her teachers, peers…? (Is there evidence of good character and leadership?) Describe personal strengths for undertaking advanced study. Give examples whenever possible.
Character
Identify what is unique about the student academically, or socially, or personally, or extracurricular, or athletically. If possible, make a prediction about his/her academic and/or personal impact on the U.S. college campus.
For Graduate students (Master’s and PhD degree applicants)
The importance of original, thoughtful and balanced (rather than uniformly generic) letters of recommendation in the admission process cannot be emphasized enough. American universities require data and information in order to process and evaluate a request for admission: the application forms, results of standardized tests, academic records, a personal statement and proof of financial solvency.
In addition to this information, letters of recommendation, generally three in number, must accompany the request for admission. These letters are of great importance for the candidate by virtue of their influence on the final evaluation and decision of university. The information furnished by a good letter of recommendation provides relevant support material and assists the institution in building a clear profile of the candidate in terms of previous activity, academic potential, personal attributes and future professional application of knowledge acquired through study in the USA. In some cases, a letter of recommendation may be the deciding factor in a candidate’s admission.
How to Write the Letter of Recommendation:
Initially, the letter of recommendation should identify its author in terms of academic background and professional experience. If the author has been associated with the American educational system, whether as a student, professor or researcher, this fact should be mentioned. The person who has had a university experience in the United States is better able to objectively evaluate a student’s possibilities for success in that academic system.
Following this, the existing relationship between the author of the letter and the candidate (professor/student, research/assistant, employer/employee, etc.) and the duration and nature of the contact should be specified by the author of the letter.
One possible way of organizing a letter of recommendation is as follows:
This candidate was my student for two semesters in the theoretical laboratory course in the biological sciences, which had as its objective to introduce genetic and molecular biology to biology students. This course, one of the department’s most rigorous, awards four credits. During our association, I had the opportunity to become well acquitted with the candidate and this permits me to make prediction with regard to his performance in the American academic system.
The letter should evaluate the candidate’s level of ability and performance from the specific relation to other participants in the same group to the general in relation to the norms of a specific academic or professional area. For example:
The candidate impressed me as an extremely capable and above average student. Among the group of thirty students, I would not hesitate to consider him one of the two best in the class. The student’s academic performance and participation during the course revealed an ability to think logically, intellectual curiosity, commitment and critical thinking. In addition to these characteristics, he consistently demonstrated a highly developed creative ability while he was my student.
A letter should also mention the candidate’s personal traits – leadership ability, maturity or others if the author has had the opportunity to observe these. Finally it is important for the letter to emphasize the relevance of the foreign program of study to the professional possibilities in the candidate’s country.
This candidate was my student for two semesters in the theoretical laboratory course in the biological sciences, which had as its objective to introduce genetic and molecular biology to biology students. This course, one of the department’s most rigorous, awards four credits. During our association, I had the opportunity to become well acquitted with the candidate and this permits me to make prediction with regard to his performance in the American academic system.
Note: to maintain the confidential aspect of the letter, it is preferable that the author of the letter and not the candidate send it directly to the university. Therefore, when you ask someone to write a letter of recommendation, it is strongly recommended that you provide them with stamped envelope addressed to the institution to which it should be sent.
