Recommendation

Letters

Rana Dey
Significance

• Slippery slope – Not so well constrained – Carries a considerable weight

• Qualitative Measure from a third person –serves as a form of verification

• Can be a deal breaker – if the application is borderline

• A Measure of what the student is bringing to the table

• Mark of a Social Capital of a student

What the committee wants to know

• Intellectual Independence
• Analytical and Quantitative Ability
• Research Ability
• Teaching Ability
• Academic Preparedness
• Maturity and Interpersonal skills
• Facility with the standard oral and written English
• Motivation and drive for graduate study
 Former Research Supervisors
• Best person to ask for a letter of recommendation
• Know you very well in a professional sense, and they can vouch
that you are a good researcher.
• Able to attest to your research ability, work ethic and your
ability to work as a member of a team.

Who to ask • Will carry a lot of weight because your future supervisor will
probably read it and be convinced that they should hire you.

for Professors/Course Teachers

• Try to ask a professor who knows you well and therefore able
to attest your personality trait.
• It’s best to ask someone who has taught more than one of
your classes and thus able to attest your academic
preparedness.
• It’s even better if you can ask a professor that you have
worked with (for example, if you have worked in their lab for
a class project).
 Co-worker/Work Supervisor
• Works best for a professional degree

Who to ask • Can attest your unique professional traits, work

ethics, and your ability to work as a team.

for (contd.) • Can provide specific examples to support your case

• Might not carry the same weight as a letter from
your research supervisor but can serve as a
secondary or supplementary letter
A Strong Recommendation

Typically conveys a
Generally, longer (400- Focuses on few
strong and assertive
500 words) specific attributes
connotation and tone

Introduces and
Anecdotes and Makes a strong
connects the student
personal Examples statement
actively
Do’s

Demonstrate how Use numbers, Use specific examples

long you know the statistics to quantify and anecdotes to
student and what the student’s demonstrate academic
capacity academic resume and personal traits

If the student
demonstrated Focus on one
Focus on positive
growth mindset, attributes in each
attributes
please elaborate on paragraph
them

End with a high

note
 Don’ts

Informal and
Generalized Syntax issues and GRE
unprofessional Negative connotation
Statements Words
language

NOT enough
quantitative Doesn’t centered Blend and lousy
information for around the student ending
normative comparison
Beginning Paragraph
It is my great pleasure to introduce and recommend ‘Nick Wagner - one of my
outstanding undergrad students, for your prestigious graduate program. I have
known him for the last ten years, and he has developed himself into a mature
and intellectually independent individual over the years.
- Assertive tone and how long the recommender know the student
This inherent intellectual independence is evident in his pursuit of diverse
academic fields, which is typically uncommon for our students. In my view,
that interdisciplinary feat also requires sound confidence in one's learning
ability and sheer determination, which he intrinsically possesses. I found him
very focused, well-prepared, and eager to learn new things during group
discussions, class participation, and outside class hours while teaching Digital
Electronics and Electrical Machine classes in the Fall of 2013.
- Unique academic trait specific to the student, attestation, and the
capacity the recommender know the student
Paragraph describing specific attributes
His analytical and quantitative abilities are exceptional. He was often too
quick to discern and spot the underlying mathematical concepts and apply
those appropriately while solving the Mathematical problems in my Electrical
Machine class.
-Specific academic trait with evidence (specific anecdote)
While evaluating his term paper for this class, I discovered his splendid
written English ability, one of the three best papers among 100 students. In
terms of all of these above metrics, I rank him in the top 2% of the entire
student pool of nearly 1000 students I have mentored and instructed at this
institution over the last ten years.
-Using specific numbers and statistics to demonstrate specific academic trait
Concluding Paragraph
Given the above-stated academic credentials, personality traits, and
outreach activities, I strongly recommend Nick for your Electro-optics
Ph.D. program. His strong and diverse educational background informs
his academic preparedness, research, and outreach activities, along with
the above-stated personality traits demonstrating the motivation,
personal growth, and responsibility of taking on a Ph.D. study. I firmly
believe he will grow academically further and succeed on this
prestigious and exciting path.

-Finishing with a high note, making a strong statement while

maintaining professionalism