How do I get around this minor Letter of Rec issue?

October 11, 2008 8:25 AM

Letter of Recommendation Filter: Professor said yes, but it's more complicated than that.

I was accepted into an academic Honor Society (woo hoo!). The Society required two Letters of Recommendation. I was able to get one from my Dean. For the other, I asked one of my professors. I took a class with her once before and held a 4.0 GPA, and am currently holding a 4.0 this semester.

She said she's happy to write the letter. The problem lies in that English is not her primary language and there are definite issues with her written abilities - both in grammar and spelling (I've seen it firsthand in class every week).

Without a doubt, she is one of the kindest, most intelligent and knowledgeable people in her field. However, her grasp of the language just isn't there. I don't know if it's that she's just thinking too fast to to correct herself, or whatever. I've just learned to double check everything on my own, since I know, invariably, that her spelling will be off on most things.

She asked that I write down whatever it is that I need for her to write in the letter. Does this mean that I should essentially write the letter for her? I Googled around and saw all kinds of samples, but that just doesn't seem, well, right to me.

Is this a common thing? What do I do? I need to get this letter into the society within the next two weeks.

Oh, and the reason I've asked her and not another professor is that I have the closest relationship with her over any of the other professors I've dealt with at the school. One that I held a 3.85GPA with just isn't a warm person, I doubt would give me a great letter. Another, I have a good relationship, but haven't performed long enough in his class for him to effectively give a recommendation.

Thanks.

posted by dancinglamb to education (15 comments total)

To clarify, I'm also taking a class with her this semester.
posted by dancinglamb at 8:27 AM on October 11, 2008

I don't understand. You say you were accepted, but now you need two letters of recommendation? Does this mean you met the basic qualifications for the honor society but need the letters to truly be accepted? Or is it some sort of pro forma thing?

She asked that I write down whatever it is that I need for her to write in the letter. Does this mean that I should essentially write the letter for her?

I would think of this as her asking for a bullet-point list of things that she should mention. You should ask her if this is what she meant. This gives her a chance to tell you that she wanted you to write prose. The latter is not really that uncommon.

One that I held a 3.85GPA with just isn't a warm person, I doubt would give me a great letter.

You may be wrong. Any academic understands the importance of rec letters, even if they are not "warm." Regardless, your initial choice was probably the correct one.
posted by grouse at 8:34 AM on October 11, 2008

I've had professors ask me to write the letter which they will then approve and sign. It can be a bit weird at first because you don't want to sound too boastful, but just focus on the end goal.
posted by modernnomad at 8:34 AM on October 11, 2008

This is a relatively common practice in my high school, I've heard at least two separate teachers (including an English Masters) say basically "hand me your resume (CV) and I'll write the letter to include what's on it"

I figure its' not such poor practice as there are too many students for the teacher to be able to feasibly keep track of what's keeping them busy outside of class, and it's not likely that they'll accept "Superman" or "President of CITYNAME branch of ORGANIZATIONNAME" without some proof...

it's flawed yeah, but it's just how I've seen it done, go ahead and hand her a prewritten letter, she will only forward it on if she agrees with it...it's also easier for you to write about yourself than have someone else write about you...

go ahead and do it! it seems like this teacher will give you a great rec. either way...but don't be afraid to have her mention her cultural-linguistic background in addition to her credentials...
posted by guptaxpn at 8:35 AM on October 11, 2008

Does this mean that I should essentially write the letter for her?

Yes, that's what it means in my experience. I've both asked for letters of recommendation, and been asked to write them, and this is the easiest way for all concerned. Because truthfully, writing something from scratch is a pain in the ass (and it's likely that she won't necessarily remember details you might want to include). Write the letter, and then she can add or subtract as she sees fit. And I would be surprised if she wasn't aware if of her language limitations. So if you see something glaring in the final version, ask if she minds making a corrections (that is, if you see the final letter at all).
posted by kimdog at 8:41 AM on October 11, 2008

To answer one question, it is not uncommon for students to be asked to write their own letters of recommendation.
posted by Nattie at 9:08 AM on October 11, 2008

Oh, one other thing: especially if your professor has a foreign name or teaches a foreign language, the people who read the letters will likely be understanding of any errors. It's unlikely it will be the first batch of recommendation letters they have ever read, and even if it is, you won't be the only one in that position.

On that same note, when my Japanese teacher wrote me a letter of recommendation in high school, she had some other people proofread it and then had me proofread it last just to be sure. I know this teacher has asked you to write the letter and that's what you should do, but I'm telling you so you don't have qualms about asking anyone else in the future. If they decide to write you a letter and they know their English is not perfect, they will likely have it proofread by someone.
posted by Nattie at 9:14 AM on October 11, 2008

It wouldn't be unusual to have the person write their own letter. To be on the safe side you can ask her if she wants bullet points or a draft letter. In all likelihood, she wants a draft, especially if she struggles with written English. Just be sure your letter includes only things that she has actually observed. For instance don't mention your fabulous extracurricular or community activities, unless she has first hand knowledge of your participation. (That should be a no-duh, but you'd be surprised.)
posted by 26.2 at 9:43 AM on October 11, 2008

I don't understand. You say you were accepted, but now you need two letters of recommendation? Does this mean you met the basic qualifications for the honor society but need the letters to truly be accepted? Or is it some sort of pro forma thing?

grouse:I was invited to join, and in the invitation, was asked to provide two letters of recommendation. I received a letter of acceptance in the mail this morning with a little note attached saying that they still were waiting on the second letter from Dr. xxx (I had to indicate who it was that would be writing on my behalf).
posted by dancinglamb at 10:34 AM on October 11, 2008

OK, so assuming I have to provide an actual draft of the letter (rather than bullet points). Is there anywhere in particular that I can find decent samples? I've been Googling around and some of them seem, uh, kind of over the top. Others don't seem to quite fit the bill - they are more for Masters Programs, etc.
posted by dancinglamb at 10:50 AM on October 11, 2008

"She asked that I write down whatever it is that I need for her to write in the letter"

If that is an accurate paraphrase, it seems that the most likely intent is for you to indicate what you want her to explicitly discuss in the letter. It is often the case that different professors are asked to write letters in which they discuss different aspects of the student's qualifications. For example: one professor might write about the student's academic potential, while a different professor writes about the student's extra-curricular activities, and yet another professor might write about a secondary field of interest that the student would like to have highlighted.

I would suggest giving her a brief list of topics that she should discuss, but make sure you add a comment that you would be happy to flesh out the list if she would like you to. This should send the message that you are happy to actually write the recommendation yourself, if that is what she truly wants.

Alternatively, you could just ask her how much content she would like you to provide yourself. Thus saving yourself a rather large amount of pointless anguish.
posted by oddman at 10:55 AM on October 11, 2008

I was invited to join, and in the invitation, was asked to provide two letters of recommendation. I received a letter of acceptance in the mail this morning with a little note attached saying that they still were waiting on the second letter from Dr. xxx

This makes it sound more like the content of the recommendation is not actually important, unless they are using it for other purposes. I think the Phi Beta Kappa at my university admitted people based on grades, but asked for recommendations to make their scholarship awards. Is this what's going on?

Regardless, it's probably still a good idea to work towards getting a good recommendation letter here. You will probably need at least two for something else at some point.
posted by grouse at 11:36 AM on October 11, 2008

Read

Advice to Graduate School Recommendation Letter Writers

by professor Shriram Krishnamurthi at Brown University Computer Science.
posted by gmarceau at 12:49 PM on October 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's fairly common. In fact, I did a draft just this week. ;-)

Unless your research advisor is writing your letter, there is a very high chance the recommender can't remember or never picked up on all of the details *specific to you*. Anyone can sputter out a "they went to class and got this grade", but that's not what you want. You want "I am special because... (best in class, accelerated, got X award, or whatever)".

In my case, It was a rec. for a research award. Said professor is not my advisor (they wrote the second one), so I summarized my accomplishments and specific strengths in that part. I also did a simple draft of the parts where said professor could expand (aka, my performance in their class). The prof. did end up revising that part a little bit, and for the better.

Get used to selling yourself, regardless if you are going to more school or ending soon. If you can't bust out a recommendation letter about yourself in half an hour off the top of your head, you may have a problem. Consider thinking about how awesome you are more often, or more importantly, what skills and story you want to present to people in order to give an optimal impression.
posted by mezamashii at 3:37 AM on October 12, 2008

Just make sure she spells your name right. I once got a recommendation from a woman who had known me since 6th grade and she spelled my name wrong (it's a common name, but an uncommon spelling) throughout the ENTIRE RECOMMENDATION.

I had to go with someone else.
posted by micawber at 3:00 PM on October 12, 2008