I don't write recommendation letters much. Truthfully in my job I don't have a lot of student contact that lasts longer than 10 minutes at a time unless it is in a big group. A student asked me today to write them a letter. Good kid. Very upbeat. Always smiling. Very polite. Their grades, however are mediocre at best. Any suggestions?
write the letter....in a world that, in most cases, you succeed because of who you know (versus what you know), this kid obviously doesn't have the right connections to get where he/she needs to be....if its a good kid, help him/her out...its no skin off your back to write a letter is it?
You just wrote it. . Unfailingly punctual. Often well dressed. Kind to animals. Invariably equipped with a freshly sharpened pencil. Perfect attendance. Put that stuff in there and the reader will know what you're leaving out.
It is so that they can catch a break the price of a private class. Kind of a price break scholarship. Easy NJR, I agreed to write the letter. I just need some help with what to say.
Here's one I found out there. The key is to instruct the recipient to read only every other line (e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7). Jane S., a chief sub editor and editor, can always be found hard at work in her cubicle. Jane works independently, without wasting company time talking to colleagues. She never thinks twice about assisting fellow employees, and she always finishes given assignments on time. Often Jane takes extended measures to complete her work, sometimes skipping coffee breaks. She is a dedicated individual who has absolutely no vanity in spite of her high accomplishments and profound knowledge in her field. I firmly believe that Jane can be classed as a high-caliber employee, the type which cannot be dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Jane be promoted to executive management, and a proposal will be sent away as soon as possible.
I write my own recommendation letters at this point and get the supposed sender to just print it out, sign it and mail it. I found that if I waited for my professors, etc. to write them, they'd never get it done.
Write the letter concentrating on the positives. The readers of the letter will notice the omissions (like "Bob is a great student with the highest grades") and/or can gleam the grades from the transcript.
This is the only way anyone I've known has gotten their professors to sign letters of recommendation.
