TCCTA

Writing Good Letters of Recommendation

The following article was written by Michael Berberich, Galveston College, and was recommended for publication by the TCCTA Publications Committee. The article is followed by three sample letters of recommendation, addressing different hypothetical situations.

Writing Good Letters of Recommendation

One of our rewards in teaching comes from getting to know students. Each with his or her own reasons for being in college, to my way of thinking every student is an extraordinary person with a dream and a story. And one of the honors of knowing students is that they sometimes ask us to write letters of recommendation; they count on us to add shade, tone, corroboration, and nuance to the big picture their application package aims to present. I take conscientious pride in this honor, for I know that what I write matters to both the student and the recipient.

Unfortunately, I have also sat on committees that required me to slog through a pile of reference letters that were, to be frank, lame and ineffective—despite their good intentions. Occasionally a letter for a student whom I know to be wonderful would appear and say little more than “Robby works hard and is wonderful. I recommend this student highly.” It pains me to read such letters. The student is competing for a limited resource where dozens of other recommendation letters give the decision makers much more to go on, yet it is the lackluster faculty reference letter that takes an excellent student out of the competition.

With these thoughts in mind I’d like to offer some general guidelines and strategies for writing letters of recommendation. The strategies I offer will address the most common kinds of recommendation we are asked to write: admissions to selective programs; applications for scholarship funding; and job references.

To begin, remember the basics. I always open by stating that I am happy to have been asked to write the recommendation. Readers appreciate hearing that courtesy, I believe. One line does the trick. I also suggest that you state the capacity in which you know the student, for how long you’ve known the student, and what qualifies you to speak with authority or insight about this student.

Since I teach English, I start my project with some prewriting where I jot down thoughts and ideas. I’ll do a sketch draft from which I will polish up a final draft. My first step is to analyze the audience. If the student has not supplied me with a copy of what information my letter should cover, I ask for that information. I analyze what skills or qualities the decision makers must base their decision on, and then list any of the ways the student matches up with those requirements. Next, I pull my records of the student, especially any short side notes I might have made about the homework, papers, reports, or test results. I look for details that might match up with my analysis of what the committee says it will base its decision on.

These match points should then be introduced early in the letter. Following my opening line where I state my pleasure at writing the recommendation, I like a first paragraph that highlights the best illustration I can come up with of the student’s capability, character, or potential. I find it a good idea to reinforce these points again in the last line of the body of the letter. (I save my very last line to indicate how strongly I recommend the candidate and to thank the readers of my letter for their time and attention.)

If space allows, I will lengthen the first paragraph or add a second paragraph that might add extra useful details. One of my favorite techniques is to actually quote the student in a revelatory “light bulb” moment when an epiphany happens. The student comes tellingly alive to readers in such moments. Moreover, quoting the student adds the benefit of reinforcing the language of the student’s own prose in the other materials of the application submitted by the student.

Here is the biggest “don’t” of recommendation writing: Avoid the bugaboo of the sweeping, unsubstantiated generalization. Aim for specificity instead. “Robby works hard” merely conveys what a hundred other letters say. “Robby works harder than anyone in the class” is better, I suppose, but not much. Try “More times than I would care to count Robby stayed after class to make sure that he understood the material.” Or create an image: “Several times a day I walk past the library, where I often see Robby in the group study area with the chemistry study group he helped organize.” That is so much better than “Robby works hard,” wouldn’t you agree?

I once saw an older student walking home amidst the gulf coast’s midsummer drenching humidity. It was a good thing, too, because it turned out the student’s bike was out of commission and she was not halfway along on a five-mile walk. I used the detail of the five-mile walk later that year when I wrote on her behalf. And I was almost as ecstatic as she was when she received enough of a scholarship to carry her through the next academic year.

I pay special attention to the delicate matter of tone. Though the occasion for the letter is formal, a sense of human warmth and friendliness is sometimes of inestimable value. Decision makers want to feel good about the decisions they make; they want to admit, award, or hire persons who will make them feel good when they present their decision to the final audience. The committee’s first positive impressions can be bolstered by the tone and enthusiasm of your good letter. We’ve all seen it: When a decision comes down to the last two or three candidates, it is the littlest of things that can make the difference, and tone is one of those fine points that matter.

These tips may sound time consuming, yet in my experience writing letters of recommendation is one of the most rewarding components of teaching. They are truly worth the effort. Though I’m sure I’ve left out some worthy tips, these ideas offer a place to start the deepening of this reward of the job.

One final thought: Save the letters you write. They can be adapted in the future. And you’ll find that with just about everything else we do in life, it comes more easily the more you do it.

Write on!

Sample Letters of Recommendation

September 15, 2013

XYZ Scholarship Committee

Dear XYZ Scholarship Committee:

I am delighted to write this letter on behalf of Suzy Q. I have known Suzy for several years now, and it may seem odd that she asked me to write on her behalf given that she failed my English 1301 course when she first started GC. She passed her retake of the course, which I’ll say more about in a minute. Going back to that first time around, though, she seemed like a really nice student, new to college, who was trying college as a way of looking for options in life without really knowing what she wanted to do.

Well, that little motivational obstacle has been resolved in Suzy for a couple of years now. She wants to be a commercial artist and an art professor. When we talked about it she explained that she knew that as a professional aiming for a position at a college she would be expected to write well. “I love discovering new words now,” she said recently when sharing the word “brouhaha” with me. I am happy to say she improved significantly and passed her retake of English 1301 with me. Since then she is, as they say, a girl on a mission and that has made all of the difference. A look at her academic records for the last couple of years is the best measure of her true commitment to excellence.

I would recommend Suzy Q for whatever financial aid your organization can come up with to help her progress towards this goal, a goal which is motivated by the discovery of a passion in life.

Sincerely,

Michael Berberich, Instructor of English

Galveston College

September 15, 2013

Director of Human Resources

ABC Corporation

Dear Director of Human Resources:

I am more than happy to recommend Roger Rabbit for the

position of lab technician. I have

known Roger since he first started college six years ago. He was a student in my humanities class

early in his college career and we have kept in regular touch since then as he

progressed through his bachelor’s degree.

Like many students these days, he completed school while maintaining a

job, which I am confident his employer references will likewise tell you he

excelled at. It has been exciting

to watch Roger’s progress.

One of the first observations I noticed about Roger, and it is

a quality that has matured well in him, was his ability to ask the good

questions. This quality of asking

excellent questions is impelled by two characteristics: he has a fine critical

mind, and he is a deeply caring person.

I remember one class discussion that was taken to a deeper level when he

challenged the evidence presented in our textbook by noting that it seemed to

have a suspect bias and that other sources of evidence on the matter might lead

to other conclusions. As part of the college’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society,

he regularly volunteered preparing meals for the local Ronald McDonald

House. He has an established

record of demonstrating the characteristics of someone who will make an

excellent employee.

I would be happy to speak to you about Roger, though I am

sure when you speak with him yourself you will be impressed about his

preparation for work in your laboratory.

I believe any employer would find Roger Rabbit a real find

and a quickly valued addition to their staff. I recommend him highly.

Sincerely,

Michael Berberich, Instructor of English

Galveston College

September 15, 2013

National Awards Selection Committee

2013 Great Community College Students Program

Dear Great Community College Students Selection Committee:

I am delighted (and honored) to write on behalf of Melissa

Einstein, as I am certain anyone at this college would be. Her contributions to this college have

been significant. To begin, Melissa is one of the best “quiet” leaders I have ever

observed. She is unassuming and

quiet; she does not draw attention to herself. She listens carefully and asks perspicacious questions as

discussions unfold. She gathers

every perspective, taking time to give each one fair consideration. Thus when she speaks she does so from

the breadth of true circumspection.

Her fellow students recognize this form of leadership and value her for

it. Her program of study was

undergoing major, turbulent change during her time of study. It is revealing to see who the students

themselves turned, and one of the first person they turned to was Melissa

Einstein. Her fairness became a steadying

influence during that time of unexpected change, and the program she graduated

from has been recognized by accrediting organizations as an exceptional

program.

Melissa took my Comp I class back in 2011. I kept up with her due to her visibility

on campus. Recently, I got to work

with her as an equal when our college conducted a semester-long search for a

new president. Our Board of

Regents selected her as the lone student representative on the search

committee. When the search committee made the appointment, the Chairman of the

Board of Regents noted, “We looked carefully at all six of the student nominees

because there is a lot at stake in the selection of a president. And though all of them possessed

backgrounds to be proud of and that would have served our search well, in the

end the board felt that Ms. Einstein had one of the most exceptional

combinations of personal, academic, and experiential qualities we have ever

seen in a student.”

Melissa’s role on the committee followed the typical pattern:

she listened, she asked perspicacious questions, she reported to fellow students

the workings of the decision making process and brought input back. The college selected an outstanding

candidate and hired a president that has excited this campus and this

community.

Sincerely,

Michael Berberich, Instructor of English

Galveston College