Letters of Recommendation

If you are planning to attend graduate school, you will need letters of recommendation from faculty members. You are also likely to need letters of recommendation when you apply for employment. It is therefore very important to get to know some faculty well so that they will be able to provide you with strong letters of recommendation. You can achieve this by joining campus organizations so that you meet faculty advisors, by taking more than one class with a professor, by doing research with a faculty member, by meeting regularly with your academic advisor, or by simply visiting a professor during office hours. If you plan to ask a professor for a recommendation, try to make sure that you make a positive impression on them. Turn in your assignments on time, participate in class, follow through with your commitments, do your best work, be enthusiastic, demonstrate initiative and responsibility, etc.

Appleby (http://psychologicalscience.org/observer/getarticle.cfm?id=1781) lists the following characteristics that employers and graduate programs look for in job and school candidates:

Graduate Schools:

Motivated and hard working
High intellectual/scholarly ability
Research skills
Emotionally stable and mature
Writing skills
Speaking skills
Teaching skills/potential
Works well with others
Creative and original
Strong knowledge of area of study
Strong character or integrity
Special skills
Capable of analytical thought
Broad general knowledge
Intellectually independent
Leadership ability

Employers:

Deals effectively with a wide variety of people
Displays appropriate interpersonal skills
Listens carefully and accurately
Shows initiative and persistence
Exhibits effective time management
Holds high ethical standards and expects same of others
Handles conflict successfully
Speaks articulately and persuasively
Works productively as a member of a team
Plans and carries out projects successfully
Thinks logically and creatively
Remains open-minded during controversies
Identifies and actualizes personal potential
Writes clearly and precisely
Adapts easily to organizational rules and procedures
Comprehends and retains key points from written materials
Gathers and organizes information from multiple sources

These lists provide a guideline for the information that I will need in order to write you a strong letter of recommendation. Keep in mind that the more information you provide me with, and the better I know you, the more specific and therefore effective letter I can write for you.

Please provide me with the following information far enough in advance that I am able to write an effective letter. This means giving me at least TWO weeks notice:

A list of courses you have taken with me, and the grades earned
Research you have participated in, including the titles and abstracts of any research papers you have written
Honor societies to which you belong
Awards that you have won
Campus activities and clubs in which you have participated and any offices held
Resume
Service activities/volunteer work
A description of your professional goals

In addition, please provide me with the following information:

A list of all schools or employees who require letters
The specific program or job for which you are applying
Deadline by which letters must be received
Address of where the letter is to be sent
A stamped envelope with the typed address of each program to which it should be sent (or a stamped envelope with your address if I should send the letter to you to include with your application)
Recommendation forms with the necessary sections completed
Your email address, telephone number, and mailing address

Please remind me regularly by e-mail, phone, or in person until I have written your letters.

References:

Appleby, D. A developmental strategy to write effective letters of recommendation. [Online]. Available: http://psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=1781.

Lloyd, M.A. & Dewey, R. A. (1997, July 16). How to get good letters of recommendation. [Online]. Available: http://www.psywww.com/careers/letterrec.htm.

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