Tip: Recommendation Letters

Tips for students & for instructors

Dec 01, 2020

The end of fall and beginning of spring semester tends to be a time when students start requesting letters of recommendation. When I get these requests, I have a whole list of things I want the student to prepare for me so that I can write the best letter possible. If you get a lot of requests, it might be helpful to share these items early in the semester so that students know what to expect.

TIPS FOR STUDENTS

Show your academic preparedness. Make sure your email is formal, polite, spell-checked, everything you can do to sound professional. Of any emails you send to your instructor, this is the time to err on the side of more polite and more polished. Here’s an article that focuses on the form of the request email (and follow up pieces).

Provide lots of supporting material. Don’t assume that your instructor will have any of your past work, or remember important details about you. Always supply the letter writer with material to use in their letter.

Explain why they would they be a good reference for you: Include details about your relationship (e.g., “I really enjoyed working with you on X project.”)
Tell the letter writer about the program (scholarship/award) for which you are applying, and why you are interested.
Provide your resume/CV or some kind of list of current and past activities.
If you wrote an essay or cover letter for the program (award, scholarship, job, internship), send that as well.
Outline all the logistics: due date; links for where to send or submit the letter.

Check the “waive my right” box. Always waive your right to see the letter; this allows the writer to be completely honest, and anyone reading the letter wants to see that you’ve waived the right to read it.

Give the letter writer enough time. I would want to know a month in advance of the deadline, especially if the request comes at the end of a semester. Some faculty prefer even longer lead time, so it’s best to ask at the beginning of the semester in which the letter will be due (or at least one month in advance, whichever is earlier).

TIPS FOR INSTRUCTORS

Only* write a positive letter. If you don’t remember the student, decline. If you remember them as a mediocre student, and don’t have any compensating factors, decline. If you can’t write a strong letter, tell them. Here’s what you can say to encourage a student to find another letter writer:

Dear student,
Thank you for your request. I am flattered that you have thought of me, but I have hesitations. Would you be able to find another professor who knows you better than I do? I am concerned that [one semester in a large course/one semester of online work/your performance in my course] does not give me sufficient information about your strengths and aptitude for [program/award/scholarship]. To be honest, my letter will not make you shine as well as someone else who knows you better. I think it's important to find someone who will be able to write the strongest, most positive letter for you.
If you still would like for me to write you a letter, please send me…. [list from above]

*Some of our students will simply not have had the opportunity to form a strong relationship with the three faculty members they likely need to have letters from. I think it’s fine to write a more generic but generally positive letter, or a letter that addresses both challenges and successes, if you’ve told the student as much. Personally, I decline to write mediocre or negative letters, but your context and opinions may vary.

Share the letter with the student. It’s a nice idea to still share the letter with your student. It might be the first time someone has written thoughtfully and positively about them and their work, and reading your letter might give them a wonderful boost of confidence. If you aren’t comfortable with them reading the letter, perhaps you are not the best person to be writing it.

Create a letter template. Basic letter structure addresses three areas: your context & relationship to the student, your evaluation of the student’s work (or aptitude/potential), and how the student compares to others. Draft a general letter that addresses your context (I teach X lab science course with N students each semester at Y university) and some of the important course activities the student would have done (Students in my X course complete an independent or group research project; propose original research; interview a community member). Perhaps include some general statistics if you teach a really large number of students (The average score on Z assignment is 82% and this student scored 93%) which might provide context for the student’s performance.

Ask the student to draft the letter. As a student, I hated doing this, but it’s definitely useful for a faculty member to have a draft to begin with rather than working from scratch, and the student can use the letter to make a strong case for why they are a good fit for the program (award/scholarship). Which addresses the next point…

Tailor the letter to the application. Do your best to explain why the student is a good fit for the program to which they are applying, and highlight what the program is (most likely) concerned about. A letter of recommendation for a graduate program is going to be very different than a letter for an award or a scholarship.

Use specific anecdotes. When you turn to the sections where you evaluate the student’s aptitude and potential, use their letter draft and other supporting materials to offer specific examples as much as possible. As we remind our students: Show, don’t tell! MIT’s office of admissions offers some examples of letters which successfully use anecdotes, and some which do not.

Happy 1st of December!