At the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) National Conference, I attended a session on writing letters of recommendation. I found the information I received to be very helpful, so I thought I would share some of the suggestions for teachers.
First, the panelists suggested that you provide students with a questionnaire and ask them to complete it:
Name:
Date of Request:
First College Deadline:
1) Why have you asked me to write a letter of recommendation for you?
2) What have you demonstrated in my class that I should praise?
3) How have you demonstrated independence? Initiative? Responsibility? Maturity?
4) What in my class was particularly challenging or eye-opening for you?
5) What was your favorite project or topic in my class and why?
6) If you have chosen a course of study that you intend to pursue in college, how does the subject I teach relate to your future studies?
7) Is there anything specific that you want me to address for you in my letter?
This should provide you with some good groundwork with which to begin.
Once you sit down to write the letter, consider these questions:
1) If the student is absent, how is the class or the school different?
2) What three adjectives best describe the student and why?
3) How do the student's peers describe him or her?
4) What surprised you about this student?
5) Are your observations corroborated by your colleagues?
6) What challenges have the student faced? How did the student respond to these challenges?
7) Is the student ready for college work?
8) Does the student possess a genuine love of learning?
9) Is the student intellectually curious? What questions does he or she ask?
10) Is the student articulate? (Assess the student's writing and speaking ability.)
You do not have to address all of these questions in your letter, but for a really top student, you may choose to do so.
Here are some general dos and don'ts when writing the teacher letter of recommendation:
DO
- Address the student's academic qualities: creativity, initiative, commitment, analytical ability, work habits, growth, independence, group involvement, collaborative skills
- Put your observations in context of the class
- Describe the uniqueness of the school program, if applicable
- Use quality adjectives. Be more evaluative than descriptive.
- Use examples and give specific evidence of excellence.
- Take the time you need to write a quality letter of recommendation.
- Tell a story. Render human the student.
DON'T
- Be generic.
- Repeat the student's resume.
- Spend half of the letter talking about the course or yourself.
- Mention attractiveness, race, religion, etc. without a good reason
- Merely provide a list of adjectives.
- Write a letter that is too long or too short (the ideal length is about 1 page)
- Reveal sensitive information without permission.
If you have a system that works for you, I am not trying to change your methods. But there may be teachers out there who struggle with this process, and if so, I hope you will find these tips helpful.
