Letter of Reference

mackinaw
Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:24:41 +0000

As someone who has written and read many many letters of recommendation for graduate admissions (as well as hiring/placement), here are some of the signals that matter.

A strong recommendation states that the applicant is among the top X% or is among the top N of all persons (M) coming out of the program this year, or in the last 15 years, or in “my career.” And because a more experienced or well known faculty member has a large M, the candidate can be made to appear to be very special.

Example:

“Sandra is the best student I have ever had in M years of teaching” is a pretty darn strong recommendation (when accompanied by some illustrative explanation) from a professor whose M is large.

“Aaron is one of the top 5 students I have ever supervised, on a par with several who have gone on to distinguished academic careers.” (And if a couple of those others are named and known, this is a golden comparison.)

“In the courses that he took with me, Amal distinguished himself as one of the top 2 or 3 students in a very strong group. He…”

The above are just illustrative of my general “formula.” There are many ways to write praiseful letters, including elaborating on particular strengths and achievements and demonstrating thereby that the letter-writer actually knows the student and his or her abilities well. Tell the readers something that only this letter-writer could know, that’s not part of the “transcript.” Provide an evaluation based on experience not just facts that can be found on a resume.

There are many ways to write lukewarm letters through signals.

The basic way is to NOT offer any of the X/N/M ratios. A writer may extol the virtues of the candidate but unless that candidate can be ranked or rated in comparison with other candidates (or persons the letter-writer may be writing for, or has taught in the past, or who have come out of the current school/program), the letter won’t be as favorable. “Herman is a remarkable, articulate, and smart young man who is very ambitious and has great promise” says absolutely nothing about how Hermie compares to the competition.

And here is my favorite line in a letter that may on the surface appear to be a strong endorsement but in fact says nothing of the sort:

“I enthusiastically support Todd’s candidacy for this (fellowship/program/position) to any (school/program/organization) that is seeking someone of his caliber.”

Wait a minute! That tells the reader that you want to get rid of this guy any way you can. It says nothing about what “his caliber” is.