Letters of Recommendation

Although the time for letters has past for the fall, I suspect that many of us will be writing letters in the spring for our students, either for college/university acceptance.  Because of the perception of psychology teachers as having some kind of special knowledge/insights about people, we are often asked for letters.

While I am no expert, based upon what I have seen on college forms, I tend to use the following points as I write:

• Who the student is and the purpose of the letter
• How I know the student-context, length of time and how well 
• Personality characteristics of the student
  
• Highlighting the academic record of the student
• Highlighting the community service and activities of the student
  
• Experiences that I know about--how they have helped the student grow as a person/student
• How the above points will make the person successful in college/worthy of the scholarship
  
• Reiteration of positives and contact information
  

The halo effect tends to take place with me.  I only will write letters for those students whom I know fairly well and who I feel I can write a good letter for.  If I see a negative, I tend to simply omit that aspect of the student or couch it in terms that makes it more positive.  I've read about teachers and professors getting sued for "negative" letters. 

When in doubt, I say something like, "I'm not sure I know you well enough to write a letter that will be good/effective enough for you.  Try checking with other teachers who have known you longer."

I also ask the student to provide me with an unofficial transcript, an activities sheet (like a resume), and some sort of self-reflection on the kinds of things they would like me to be able to provide them.  I also ask for two weeks.

What do all of you think?  It would be great to hear from all those letter writers so we can share our collective wisdom and experience.

Chuck