What to do if you want me to write you a letter of recommendation
If you want me to write you a letter of recommendation, there are four things you must do.
- Send me an email (hannah.sevian@umb.edu) requesting the letter of recommendation,
and tell me the deadline by which you need me to send the letter. You must
give me at least one month of lead time. Provide me with some justification
for why I should recommend you. Tell me who your lab professor and discussion
professor were so that I can contact them and also incorporate what good things
they have to say about you in the letter of recommendation.
- Provide me with the recommendation cover page filled out by you (if needed)
and an envelope that you have addressed to the place where I need to send
the letter. Place appropriate postage on the envelope.
- Provide me with copies of essays you have written for your application,
your transcripts, and any other material that will help me to know more about
you as a student and as an applicant for the program you are applying for.
This way I can say more in the letter than simply, "Student X was in my chemistry
course and received a grade of Y."
- Provide me with a draft of the letter of recommendation you would like me
to write. I will begin with your draft and then modify it. The point of you
writing a draft is so that I can understand what qualities you believe you
have that would recommend you for the program you are applying for. Also,
it increases the likelihood that I will get to your request sooner - I receive
dozens of these requests every semester and it is difficult to keep up with
all the requests. Many students have said that they would like to see an example
letter. I used to have a draft letter up here, but I found that students were
simply downloading the draft and susbstituting their name in it, despite my
request not to do that, so I have removed the draft and will not post one
again. There are plenty of places on the internet where you can find examples
to draw ideas from. Be creative.
- Important: Send this draft to me either as a Word document attached to an
email, or as text pasted directly into an email. I will not accept drafts
on paper.
I will write the letter only after I have received all four things from you.