Does anyone have examples of successful student recommendation letters? I want to give my teacher some guidelines for writing mine but I'm not sure where to start. TIA (thanks in advance)!
Absolutely, providing your teacher with some general guidelines can be very helpful! Although it's not appropriate to provide actual letters due to confidentiality reasons, I can suggest some elements a successful recommendation letter might have:
1. Relationship: The teacher should mention how well they know you and in what context. This could include how long they've known you, the classes you’ve taken with them, or any significant interactions outside of the classroom.
2. Academic Abilities: The recommendation should talk about your hard skills, like your problem-solving ability, your writing skills, your aptitude for the subject matter, etc. If the teacher can include specific examples of impressive projects, assignments, or discussions that demonstrate these abilities, even better!
3. Soft Skills: Skills like leadership, time management, communication, empathy, and teamwork are also important. Again, providing concrete examples will make these traits more convincing and memorable.
4. Character & Personality: Letters can differentiate you by also shedding light on your personality and character with anecdotes or examples that capture your approach to learning, your resilience, your enthusiasm, or your contributions to the class community.
5. Comparison to Peers: If possible, the teacher should compare you to other students they've taught in the past to give admission officers an idea of where you stand.
6. Link to Your Major/Goal: If the teacher is from a subject area related to your intended major or career, it would be beneficial to include insights on your aptitude and interest in the field.
Remember that each teacher may have their own style of writing and not all these points need to be included. The best recommendation letters are the ones that are authentic to your relationship with that teacher. It's always a good idea to provide your teacher with a small list of key experiences, projects, or interactions you've had together, which they can refer to when writing the letter.
I hope this gives you a solid starting point to guide your teacher!
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