Letter of Recommendation Advice for Faculty Members

Introduction

There is a real art to writing letters of recommendation for global fellowships and awards. I hope that you will find the following advice and guidelines useful as you support student and alumni applications for these nationally competitive fellowships, scholarships, and grants. –Ann M. Landstrom

First here are focused comments on the particular expectations of letters for certain awards, click on the links in the list below. Always know you can contact me when you are writing letters; and remember to read on following these links!

  • Beinecke Scholarship
  • Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – Gaither Junior Fellowship
  • Churchill Scholarship
  • Fulbright Grants [Grinnell login required]
  • Goldwater Scholarship
  • Marshall Scholarship [Grinnell login required]
  • Mitchell Scholarship [Grinnell login required]
  • Rhodes Scholarship [Grinnell login required]
  • Truman Scholarship
  • Udall Scholarship
  • Watson Fellowship

I recommend that faculty refer to Joe Schall’s excellent book, Writing Recommendation Letters, which is now available online for free at:  https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingrecommendationlettersonline/. Schall’s book includes specific advice on writing letters of recommendation for major scholarships and fellowships, internships, graduate school, and jobs. Please note that the following guidelines are meant solely for letters in support of fellowship applications; for further guidelines on other letters of recommendation, please see the book by Joe Schall mentioned above.

The Importance of Letters of Recommendation

The difference between a winning scholarship application and one that does not win is often minute. Every year, for example, approximately 1,600 candidates apply for 32 Rhodes Scholarships. The vast majority of these candidates have GPAs above 3.8, are campus leaders, demonstrated success in an area* of distinction, and have strong records of community service. Letters of recommendation are one of the best places for selection committee members to differentiate between candidates, as these letters should show an honest portrayal of the candidate from a source that knows the candidate well. To emphasize the importance of these letters, the Rhodes Foundation asks each candidate to have at minimum five and maximum of eight letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf. These letters often make the difference between a candidate being selected as a scholar or not. Because of the high importance of these letters, it is our duty as a college to provide the best letters possible for our students.

*an area such as sports, music, debate, dance, theatre, and artistic pursuits, including where teamwork is involved

The Purpose of Letters of Recommendation

Scholarship applications ask students to submit a wealth of information about themselves, so it is not important that you give basic information already available to the selection committee. Instead, your letter of recommendation should:

  1. Provide a context for the student’s achievements.
  2. Describe the student and the student’s achievements, providing new information or a new lens through which to view information.
  3. Confirm and validate the impression they have of the student from the student’s application.

General Guidelines for Letters of Recommendation

The best letters of recommendation bring a student to life through concrete, specific examples that show the student’s talents and abilities. Instead of just describing a student as insightful, dedicated, or talented, the most useful letters provide stories or narratives that show the student exhibiting these qualities. When you describe a student, instead of just giving an adjective, ask yourself: How do I know this about this student? When has this student demonstrated this quality? Then tell the foundation about this example. Personal memories and anecdotes are not only permissible, but are encouraged.

Before writing a letter of recommendation, read the criteria for the scholarship carefully, and be sure that your letter addresses these criteria. Too often, we see letters for scholarships, such as the Truman or Watson, which have very specific criteria, but that read more as graduate school letters of recommendation. After ensuring that you know what qualities the foundation seeks in its candidates, ask yourself: What is unusual about this student, or makes this student stand out in your mind? These are the qualities that the foundation will want to hear about beyond their own criteria.

In general, the best letters of recommendation are longer than one page, but are less than two pages, and, of course, are carefully proofread and edited. Yet specifically, please carefully review the foundation’s requirements.

Please note: Foundations may use a form with specific questions that have character or word count requirements. For form-based letters of recommendation please fully use the character or word space provided with your comments and stories.

Working With the Candidate

Before you write the letter, I hope you will have a discussion with the student regarding her or his application. Why is she applying for this scholarship? What are his future career or academic goals? Why does she think she is a good candidate? What does he see as his principal activities and accomplishments? Why did she choose you to write a letter of recommendation? What topics does he hope you will address in your letter?

Students have obligations to faculty and staff whom they approach to write letters of recommendation for them. (See Student Tips for Letters of Recommendation for a student perspective.) Letter writers should be asked at least three weeks (preferably a month or more) before the application is due; if you are not given this level of consideration, you should feel free to refuse to take on the letter. Students should provide you with whatever information you deem necessary for you to be able to write an effective letter. At a minimum, an official description of the criteria the foundation wishes you to address, instructions on where and when to submit the letter, and to whom the letter should be addressed. Additional information you may wish a student to give you might include a copy of their application form, a near final draft of essays or other supplemental materials they are required to submit with the application, a resume, a transcript, examples of the best work they have submitted to you in the past, or a letter reminding you of work that the student has done with you (courses, grades, research activities).

Because the best letters of recommendation come from faculty members who know a student well, you should not feel obligated to write a letter for a student you do not know well. More often than not, committees can tell when a faculty member does not know the student for whom they are writing very well, and the letter is ineffective at best. If a student you do not know well asks you to write a letter of recommendation, you should have an honest talk with that student about whether there would be a faculty member who knows the student better who can write the letter.

What to Include in a Letter of Recommendation

Including the following in a letter of recommendation is generally helpful:

  • Begin the letter by stating the nature and length of your relationship with this student. If the student has completed advanced-level work with you such as a MAP or internship, this should be noted, as should any contact outside the classroom you have had with the student.
  • Describe and evaluate the student’s scholarly work, especially major research projects. What is the quality or significance of this work, and what does it indicate about the student’s future?
  • Describe the student’s personality, disposition, and work ethic. Your letter is one of the only places that the foundation learns about the student’s personality before the interview (if any).
  • Refer to and reflect on themes in the student’s essay.
  • Rank the student in comparison to other students you have taught, or compare the student to past prizewinners you have known. You can use specific, even quantified data to describe the student (in the top 5% of students I’ve taught…among the 10 best students I’ve had in 15 years at Grinnell…reminds me of past students I’ve known who have won the Watson Fellowship).
  • You may also ask your colleagues for quotes, comments, or descriptive stories about the student that support comments you have made.

Pitfalls

The following suggestions are offered to avoid common problems with letters of recommendation:

  • Do not focus on your own resume, achievements, or stringent standards. Stating “This student received an ‘A’ in my class, and I am a tough grader” tends to be less impressive to a committee than a description of why the student received that “A.”
  • Do not be generic, and avoid vague platitudes such as “John is a bright, conscientious, hard-working student.” Read your letter and think about how many students your description might apply to. Again, specificity and details help make a high quality letter.
  • Do not provide information already available to the committee on a transcript, resume, or other information provided by the candidate. Instead, place this information in context, or provide the story behind the grade or activity.
  • Do not remark on the student’s attendance or preparation for class. It is assumed that top students attend class regularly and complete their homework in a timely manner. By stating that a student does these things, it implies that this behavior is unusual or noteworthy, which does not speak well to the student’s classmates.
  • Be honest but highly cautious about criticism. Committees take criticism very seriously, and it is often the kiss of death for a candidate. If you feel the need to include criticism in a letter of recommendation, you should reconsider whether you are the most appropriate person to write for this student, and you should perhaps discuss these concerns with the candidate.
  • Do not compare the candidate to other students in that one class (“Mary was the second best student in my section of 101 last year”). This claim is rather weak evidence of the student’s abilities, and it does not provide a broad enough context for the student’s achievements.

Logistics of Letters of Recommendation

Please feel free to contact me–Ann Landstrom, landstrom@grinnell.edu–Grinnell’s assistant dean and director of global fellowships and awards with questions about a scholarship, a particular student’s candidacy, and deadlines. Campus and Foundation deadlines are firm due to the competitive nature and limited timeframe for nomination within the academic year. Only with permission from me can extensions on a campus deadline for letters of recommendation be granted.

Sources used in compiling these guidelines include materials distributed at the National Association of Fellowship Advisors conferences, Foundation Advisor presentations and materials, current Grinnell College fellowship advisor Ann Landstrom, and former Grinnell College fellowship advisors Doug Cutchins and Steven Gump.