Guidelines for Requesting Recommendations

I am happy to write letters of recommendation for students and former students who have worked hard and done well in my classes.

A letter of recommendation is most effective if it is tailored to a specific situation, such as your application for a particular scholarship, graduate program, or job. Generic letters of recommendation—written to serve all purposes and situations—are not helpful. Because of the capabilities of word processing, it is no problem for me to write multiple letters to fit the requirements of the various situations for which you are applying.

A letter of recommendation is most highly valued by its reader if it is confidential—sent directly from the recommender to the evaluator and never seen by you. If you have an opportunity to choose between a confidential and non-confidential recommendation, always choose a confidential recommendation. I will not give a letter of recommendation directly to you unless the instructions you receive for a particular application require you to collect your letters of recommendation. In that case, I will seal my letter in an envelope and sign my name over the back flap so that the letter will remain confidential.

If you want me to write a letter for you, please follow this process:

(1) Several weeks before you need the letter, please tell me the situation for which you need a letter of recommendation and ask me (in person, by telephone, or by e-mail) if I will write it for you. If you are unsure whether I would be able to give you a positive recommendation for this situation, please ask me and I will do my best to reply honestly.

(2) After I have agreed to write the letter, please send me by e-mail or give me in hard copy the following information:

a. The name of the scholarship, graduate program, or job for which you are applying

b. The name and address of the person to whom I should send my letter

c. The deadline by which the letter needs to be sent or received (Please give me at least two weeks’ advance notice. When I am teaching, I usually have time to write letters of recommendation only on weekends.)

d. The criteria for the scholarship, graduate program, or job for which you are applying—that is, the requirements of background, experience, and/or skill that are emphasized in the information you have about this position

e. The names of the classes you have taken from me, the semesters in which you took them, and the final grades you received (or an unofficial copy of your NSU transcript with my classes highlighted)

f. The topics of any papers or special projects you completed in the classes, or anything else about your performance in my classes that I might be able to include in my letter

g. Your resume or vita, if you already have one (This is optional. Don’t create a resume just for me.)

h. Anything else about you that would help me to write an effective letter