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The letter of recommendation is still one of the crucial components of every graduate student’s application materials. Almost all graduate school applications still need at least two letters of recommendation from someone who can consistently discuss your skills, knowledge, and character and suggest you for admission to graduate school.
If you would like to improve your letter of recommendation, you can refer to the letter of recommendation editing service. Experienced editors will correct grammatical errors, as well as give tips on how to improve each letter’s structure. In addition, the editors hold private sessions to discuss how best to start writing this paper and what needs to be emphasized.
Table of Contents:
Who Should Write a Recommendation Letter for Graduate School?
Often students have questions about who should be chosen for a letter of recommendation. Many face a difficult choice when they have many opportunities to pick out. The admission rules clearly state that the student is not allowed to write a recommendation letter or influence the person writing the document. It can be a professor known to the target graduate school.
Realizing why letters of recommendation are so important for grad school, the student should entrust writing a letter of recommendation to someone who knows them very well. It should be a person who can tell who you actually are. Only someone who knows you well can express faithful admiration for you as a promising student.
How Do You Choose the Right Person to Write a Letter of Recommendation?
This person should know you well and speak well of you. Moreover, it should be a person who often spends time with you apart from your studies. A trusted person should know about your career goals like no one else.
It is best to choose a person who has known you for years. Such trusted people are much more appreciated than those who have known you for only a few months.
It is also essential that the credible person is somehow related to your specialization. The person in your field must be able to describe you as a student who excels in many qualities.
Choose a person who can write. They must do it well and competently. However, the most important thing is to interest the reader. They must share a story that will reveal you as a person.
What to Highlight In a Letter of Recommendation for Graduate School
If you are asked to write a letter of recommendation for a Graduate School, there are a few rules to remember to write a quality letter of recommendation.
- Constant contact with your applicant
Even if you know this student like the back of your hand, you better still ask about some things. For example, what qualities and accomplishments does the applicant value most of all? Why do they apply for this specialty? You should also not be shy to ask how to properly write a recommendation, because there may be nuances that only the applicant will tell you about.
- Watch your language
When choosing the proper sentences to describe your ward, you should avoid writing ambiguous or too vague phrases. You better back up your words with facts. For example, why do you consider your student reliable? What skills did he show in front of you?
- Describe the student as a whole
You should not rely only on some specific aspects of your student. It is worth describing them as a complete person. However, you should not be too fair, pointing out all the student’s shortcomings. The letter of recommendation should describe more positive aspects.
- Build on student strengths
When you write a letter of recommendation, you better pay attention to the applicant’s strengths. It is worth focusing all the attention of the reader on what your student can do.
Although you may well embellish the personality of your ward, the truthfulness of the letter of recommendation is your responsibility. Upon admission to the educational program, applicants will be required to go through an interview stage. The admissions committee will base corresponding questions on a general impression of all candidate’s documents, including their letters of recommendation.
How to Write a Letter of Recommendation for Grad School: General Structure
You better not point out in the letter different information that is not indicated in the applicant’s resume or personal statement. That is why the letter needs to be written by a recommender. Thus, the admissions committee will have the applicant’s description in another person’s voice. Even if you write the letter yourself it will definitely be noticeable to the admissions committee as they will know your writing style from your application.
You should responsibly approach the creation of the document itself. The structure of the letter of recommendation is quite clear. It includes:
First paragraph
The recommender has to establish how they know the applicant. Show how you have been working together academically or professionally, for how long have you known this person, and why you can comment on a person’s ability to study at the chosen university.
Main body
The main body of the recommendation letter shows the skills and personality of the person by giving examples and explanations. Brainstorm the situations where an applicant showed their abilities and stood out among others in the class.
Closing paragraph
The letter writer has to sum up how a person will fit in the chosen university. The recommender should explain how and why they feel the applicant will be a great fit for the grad program he is applying to and how they will be a good part of the university community.
What Information Should be Included In a Letter of Recommendation?
Since you must show the candidate from the outside, you better answer a few questions:
- What kind of connection do you have with the student?
- Why should the graduate faculty consider your advice?
- What distinguishes this student?
- What did this student accomplish in particular to impress you?
- What qualifies this student for this program and graduate school?
- What do you know about the program the student is applying to?
Also, since you are the referrer, it is worth asking the student for some documents that can support your words. For example:
- Research experience and internships
- Awards and achievements
- Academic/career goals
- Relevant professional experience
- Resume or CV
Before writing a letter of recommendation, you should make sure that you have enough time to write and validate the document. In addition, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the requirements of the university. It is essential to have instructions for creating a letter of recommendation with you.
What Is the Best Way to Write a Letter of Recommendation?
The letter of recommendation is less formal than academic writing, but you better still confirm that it is written at an academic level that accurately reflects the author’s education and experience.
- The tone of your words should be more informal than in research writing.
- Increase your use of the active voice and first-person perspective.
- Write in chronological order, beginning with significant characteristics and going on to actions and accomplishments.
- List course titles, grades, and the student’s individual accomplishments in great detail.
But remember that before sending your letter of recommendation, you better check and re-read it yourself several times. It is worth eliminating any grammatical and spelling errors.
Conclusion
Writing a letter of recommendation is a tough and laborious process. First, you must carefully analyze what kind of person can concisely but colorfully describe your character and capabilities. Secondly, this person must also understand the structure and importance of a letter of recommendation. In the end, you are working together on your future.
