Letters of recommendation are a delightful way for me to reconnect with you and play a part in your future plans. Nevertheless, they require a significant commitment of time, research, and focus—from both of us. If you want me to write you a recommendation…
Please take the time to read what follows:
- BEFORE you ask me for a recommendation, think about whether I’m the best person for the job. The first thing I state in any recommendation letter is how long and in what capacity I’ve known you. If I’ve known you as an advisor but never taught you in a class, or if I’ve taught you in lower level course but never seen your advanced work, my testimony may not be convincing—no matter how much I like, respect, or admire you.
- Please ask my permission BEFORE you submit my name to any person, institution, or organization.
- Give me at least two weeks of notice (if you don’t, I may not be able to produce the letter). Three or four weeks would be even better.
- Give me a due date (yep, here’s your chance to give a professor a due date—pretty neat, huh?).
- Please respect my decision if I say no: I will tell you if I don’t think I’m the best person to write your letter. In such cases, it often has less to do with how fabulous I think you are than with what courses you’ve taken with me and whether I’m the best person for the job.
Once I’ve agreed to write a letter of recommendation, please send me your resume, application essay, and informal responses to the following questions:
- What are you applying for and how are you framing your application? (DO NOT just send a link—I don’t have time to explore websites! Please provide a concise description of the programs/positions.)
- What specifically is drawing you to this position or program? (How can I talk about what makes you a good fit? If you’re applying to multiple graduate programs, let me know if there are particular programs/people that you especially hope to work with and why.)
- What courses did you take with me and when? (If we collaborated outside class or interacted in other ways, describe those encounters, too.)
- When you think about the work you did in my class or classes, what makes you most proud? (This could range from particular claims, interpretive insights, argumentative structure, presentation skills, etc. to persistence and commitment as demonstrated in office hour visits or otherwise, the ability to take and apply feedback, group facilitation and more.)
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What are you hoping my letter will cover? (Think about who else is writing for you, and what they will cover. What gaps might need to be addressed, even if they’re not obviously part of what I might write about otherwise?)
- What stories help bring you to life for an admissions or selection committee—stories that you don’t have room to include in your own materials? (Think about times you’ve risen to unusual challenges or otherwise demonstrated relevant skills and traits. Give me a quick snippet of a story, and I can try to weave it into my letter.)
- Would you like feedback on your application essay? If so, let me know. Share your draft as an editable Google doc, and give me a deadline.
When submitting my name to application portals, please enter all my data:
- Suzanne W. Churchill, Professor of English
- 209 Ridge Rd., PO Box 5000, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035
- (704) 894-2695
- suchurchill@davidson.edu
Keep me organized!
- Tell me where and how to submit my letter.
- Remind me of feedback and application deadlines a week ahead and prompt me (gently) every few days until the rec is submitted.
Last but not least, let me know the results of your application.
Whether it’s joyful or disappointing news, I’m here for you, cheering you on and eager to follow your career, wherever it takes you.
Acknowledgements: These guidelines were borrowed from Dr. George H. Williams’ “My guidelines regarding student requests for letters of recommendation” and supplemented with Dr. Betsy Bolton‘s excellent list of questions, which I use with her permission.