A doubt about recommendation letters.

Answered

Hey there @Athifa!

Regarding submission of the recommendation letter: Go to Common App, select one of your colleges, go to Recommenders and FERPA, and under the 'Teachers' section, plug in the details of your teacher (As far as I know, it asks for the recommender's name, title, subject of expertise, and email ID). This should send an automated email to the email address you've entered (preferably an official one that ends with @schoolname.com) and it contains steps to sign up or log in to 'Common App for Recommenders.' If the teacher has an account, they can simply login and they'll see your name pop up as 'Pending recommendations,' if I recall correctly. They'll have to answer a few questions about you like how long they've known you, what subject they teach and its level, a few words that come to their mind about you, and, finally, the recommendation. Then, it's as easy as hitting the submit button, and voila! Your recommendation will be uploaded!!

NOTE: Be sure to tell them that once the recommendation has been submitted, it can't be edited.

Now, coming to whether they should write it on paper or copy the link of google docs: Honestly, ever since things have become so easy electronically, almost no one 'writes' a letter of rec. It's simply too time-consuming. The best option is to copy-paste the entire thing to a word-document and then save the word-doc as a "PDF." This is what my teacher did, at least. Then, they can upload the PDF onto the portal.

About the digital signature: I say that it's always recommended to include a signature. It serves as proof of authenticity. The recommenders may delete their phone numbers, though. Email, designation, name, and signature are more than enough.

Hope I've answered your question.

Have a great day!!

PS: Ask your teacher/ counselor if it's possible to get the school letterhead for the rec. letter. It's another proof of authenticity.