'Tis the Season . . .

. . . for letters of recommendation, that is. Yep, the requests have started to come in. I post the following not for the sake of my regular readers here but as an archival entry to which I can direct letter-seeking students. (On the other hand, if regular readers have comments or suggestions to add, please do.)

Writing letters is one of the best things a professor does (really—it’s a way to reconnect with past students and play a part in their future plans), but it can also quickly get out of control—not just the time spent crafting the letters themselves, but the correspondence back and forth to negotiate all the details and information.

So, if you’ve asked me for a letter . . .

• Please take the time to read what follows, since I’m going to be taking the time to write for you.
  
• Please 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.
  
• Please give me a due date (yep, here’s your chance to give a professor a due date—pretty neat, huh?).
  
• Please give me all the details about where the letter needs to go, either an email address or URL if it is to be submitted electronically—double-check that these are correct—or a stamped, pre-addressed envelope if it is to go out in the post. If there’s a particular person to whom the letter should be addressed tell me that too. Forms, envelopes, and other paperwork can either be brought to my office hours or left in my box in Susquehanna 3101.
  
• Please tell me something about why you are pursuing the object of the recommendation: why are you applying for this program or award or honor or opportunity? The more you can tell me the better, and the more generous and enthusiastic you are with your own prose the more I’m likely to be with mine. A personal statement, if you have one, is a big help in this regard.
  
• Depending on the nature of the recommendation, I may well ask you for copies of papers and other work you did for me; please be prepared to provide these in a timely manner.
  
• Please drop me an email reminder a couple of days before the recommendation is due, just to make sure.
  
• Please respect my decision if I say no: I will only write for students I feel I can endorse strongly, and trust me, you don’t want a letter that will be lukewarm at best.
  
• Finally, please let me know how it turns out!