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MattCover's avatar

Thanks so much for this, Terry! Happy to note that my approach generally agrees with much that you share here.

A few years ago I started including a paragraph in my letters to provide context on my institution and department. I sometimes make small tweaks based on the applicant, but almost always include some version of it. You have written often about how there can be very little understanding of learning and research environments across ranges of institutions. e.g., broadly speaking, folks at R1s may have incorrect expectations (or biases) about students at less exclusive public regional comprehensive universities. Rather than assume that readers of my letters will understand the particular contexts of students from my college, I now provide some details about the relative rarity of research opportunities and limited exposure to graduate programs, as well as the general socioeconomic conditions of my region and students. I try to do this from an asset-based perspective (e.g. students who are considering grad school have shown resourcefulness, motivation, etc.) while trying to make clear the material realities of life here. It also provides a way to generalize about trends in my student body (e.g., majority first-gen, Pell eligible, etc) without describing the particular background of the applicant, which I usually feel is not my place.

I often wonder how this paragraph is perceived by others. And very curious your thoughts on this!

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Beth Braker's avatar

And try not to start every sentence with "I". Center the person you are recommending, not yourself. Once you notice how often this is the style in academic recommendation letters, you can't unsee it, and will be horrified to find how much you do it. There is almost always a better way to say it. Examples:

"She was selected from dozens of applicants to join our lab's field expedition". vs "I chose her to participate in my lab's research trip".

"She asked to meet to discuss different Ph.D. programs and advisors after thoroughly looking into possible research directions, publications, and funding opportunities" vs. "I suggested she apply to the top graduate programs in our field".

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