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Parents and educators: How to write good letters of recommendationBecause of our highly competitive applicant pool, letters of recommendation hold substantial weight in our admissions decisions. A well-written letter for an outstanding applicant can show impressive characteristics beyond their own self-advocacy. A guide to writing evaluations for MITBoth school counselor and teacher evaluations are most helpful when they are specific and storied. They should provide us with the information and impressions we cannot glean from the rest of the application. Try to give a complete sketch of the student and the context of their accomplishments. Support your conclusions with facts and anecdotes whenever possible. Try to address the following questions in your evaluation:
Please pay special attention to the opening and closing of your evaluation. Remember, we are reading over 30,000 applications, and we appreciate strong statements that we’ll remember as we evaluate each candidate. With that said, please write in a way that makes you feel comfortable and do not shy away from giving us your honest impressions. We are only looking for glowing superlatives if they are backed up with examples and give us context; what is behind a student’s achievements. Above all else, make sure to go beyond a student’s grades and academic performance. We can get this information from other parts of the application. Letters of recommendation are confidential in the MIT admissions process. Examples letters of recommendation and critiquesTeacher recommendation for David:
Critique: Excellent! This recommendation is filled with comments from someone who clearly knows this student well. We get a clear sense for not only David’s intellectual capacities, but also emotional maturity. His genuine love for computer programming comes through in this teacher’s description. We also realize that he is pushing academic boundaries in his community and making opportunities for himself—a trait that is especially important for a candidate seeking college admissions a year early. Teacher recommendation for Jen:
Critique: We receive thousands of recommendations like this each year. It is all positive, but it doesn’t give any real depth to the candidate. In this instance, the reader is left feeling the writer is reaching for something to say. Honesty and trustworthiness are certainly admirable traits, but they are not uncommon among the nation’s top college applicants. We are looking for a compelling reason to admit someone, so information on the class material does not help the candidate. Although Jen may be a hard worker, most of our applicants are. Although the comments are positive, it is difficult to grasp onto anything tangible to make this candidate’s case stronger. Was this faint praise intentional? How does Jen fare in comparison with other (more outstanding?) candidates at the school? Counselor recommendation for Mary:
Critique: Good. Lots of specifics here give us a very clear impression and help us to know why that impression is held. We have evidence of her newspaper directives and overall character. Counselor recommendation for Jane:
Critique: You may wonder whether or not the above information is appropriate in a letter of evaluation. It is! We appreciate anything that gives us insight and perspective into a student’s performance and the environment. Comments about problems that a student has experienced will help us understand the context in which they have accomplished whatever they have achieved. The extent to which they have dealt with these problems is useful to know as well. Counselor recommendation for Mike:
Critique: We do not learn very much from this report, but we understand why. The counselor is very honest, and we are not left guessing as to the reason there is not more information and will turn our attention to other parts of the application. Teacher recommendation for Brian:
Critique: This is an example of an evaluation in which we really don’t know what the writer is trying to tell us. The comments provided certainly do not give much substantive information. We are left wondering whether there is just not much to say about this student or whether the teacher just didn’t bother to put much effort into the recommendation. This is a situation where we will probably form our impressions based on the pattern of all the recommendations. If all are equally uninformative, we will assume there wasn’t much to say, but if the others are better, we will assume this teacher did not give much effort to the recommendation. How do you write a strong reference letter?Your letter should describe how you know the person and explain why you're recommending them.. Think carefully before saying yes. ... . Follow a business letter format. ... . Focus on the job description. ... . Explain how you know the person, and for how long. ... . Focus on one or two traits. ... . Remain positive. ... . Share your contact information.. What should a good reference letter include?It should give an overall picture of the candidate's: personal characteristics, performance, experience, strengths, capabilities and professional promise. Letters of recommendation can also be used to explain some weakness or ambiguity in a student's record.
How do you give a good reference example?If you agree to provide a reference, follow these tips:. Keep the information factual. Avoid opinions about issues such as personal conflicts. ... . Qualify what you say. ... . Make your praise specific. ... . Refer to specific tasks or projects. ... . Avoid examples that highlight a candidate's weaknesses.. What is an example of a professional reference letter?Reference letter template:
I am writing to wholeheartedly recommend [Applicant's Full Name] for the [job title] position at [company name]. My name is [Your Name], and I'm a [job title] at [your company name]. I've been working the [field/industry] industry for [number] of years. stands out as a cut above the rest.
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