What makes a good recommendation?
  • Provide specific information about the applicant—information that committee members can use to determine the applicant’s strengths and that will help shape any interview that the applicant might be offered.
  • Provide some context of how you know the applicant and for what period of time you have known the applicant.
  • Show that you know the applicant personally. Examples unique to this relationship are more valuable than information that could be gathered from the resume.
  • Point to specific examples of what the applicant has done. If the applicant did outstanding work in some regard, explain the nature of this work and its particular strengths, especially as they relate to the goals of the fellowship.
  • Discuss why the applicant would be a strong candidate for the specific fellowship. How does the applicant exemplify the personal qualities or selection criteria specified by the fellowship? Specific examples are crucial.
  • Indicate what particularly qualifies the applicant for any course of study or project being proposed. Provide the links between past performance and what is proposed.
  • Place the student in a larger context. For example, compare the present applicant to others who have applied for similar honors or succeeded in such competitions.  Undergraduate students can be compared to graduate students or professionals. Quantitative remarks/percentages may be useful and the strongest comparisons have the widest reach: “among the best in my x years of teaching” is stronger than “the best in this class.”
  • If possible, draw on the remarks of others (including TAs, when necessary) for supporting evidence or the acknowledgement of specific strengths.