Consider these two excerpts from letters of recommendation:

I am of the distinct opinion that his breadth and depth of knowledge and his intellectual capacity augur such a level of grandeur that he seems almost predisposed to high achievement.

 

He is smart and bound to succeed.

Both sentences say essentially the same thing, but in different styles—the first with the luxuriance of Faulkner; the second with the parsimony of Hemingway.

Most recommendation letter writers fall somewhere between these two extremes, making sure that their diction and tone reflect their attitude towards the student even as they reveal their stylistic talents and traits as a writer. One can say that letters of recommendation have a common style in that they have a common purpose and share common phrasings, but the best writers aim to produce a letter that is nearly as individual as the student.

This chapter explores some of the stylistic categories we can choose from as we polish our prose while recommending students. Of course, as one composes a letter the issues discussed are naturally and tightly interwoven. The best writers express themselves in a way that is not artificial nor formulaic, but fluid and intuitive, and the best letters of reference characterize the student clearly while remaining true to the author’s style and standards. Most importantly, the goal is to write in a style that is natural both for you and for the circumstances of the letter, while ultimately uplifting and honoring the student you are recommending.

 

Formalities and Generic Phrases

Though some writers overuse them, formalities and generic phrases do have a place in the convention of letters of reference. Here are a few of the most popular:

Ms. Janet Lerner has asked for my recommendation, and I am most happy to give it.

I recommend him highly and without reservation.

Such phrases, often “bookending” the body of the letter, do no harm, but at the same time they are used so often that they become invisible and meaningless as well. A more creative and meaningful approach is to use sentences of more substance that fit the circumstances and the student directly. As examples, note two sentences that are used to end sample recommendation letters in Chapter 5:

I think he would be an excellent REU candidate, and I enthusiastically endorse his application.

She will be a rare catch for any graduate school, and I will watch her career develop with great interest and high expectations.

Such personalized endorsements represent the student more emphatically, with more style, and perhaps more credibly, than any generic line can.

The Role of Jargon and Informalities

Specialized vocabulary in a letter—assuming it’s clear in context, not overused, and audience-appropriate—can boost a letter’s impact, enhancing the writer’s credibility and lending the student’s work more value. Often, proper context has to be created for the jargon, and it’s most likely to be used within sentences where examples are provided. Considering just the example letters in Chapter 5, the recommendations written by scientists are more powerful because they comment on a student’s facility with nano-indentation techniques or mastery of quantitative RT-PCR, helping readers view the students being recommended as researchers.

Informal, anecdotal examples, colloquialisms, and even slang—used with discretion and restraint—can also help the reader feel a connection with both letter writer and the student. Again drawing from sample letters in Chapter 5, we hear of a student’s “excellent lab hands,” we find a professor noting that she competes with her student on the squash court, we are given examples of a student’s quirky and sardonic humor, and we even find a faculty member in a teaching job recommendation using an exclamation point. Such informal snapshots have the impact of helping us to know the student better, and prove that the writer knows well and genuinely admires the student.

Using Narrative

Using narrative can help you organize and help bring forth the student’s distinctiveness. Effective paragraphs often open with some narrative that sets a scene—“In the fall of 2009” or “I recall the time that William first came to my office to discuss. . . .”  Likewise, you might use narrative to underscore a student’s growth: “Our next contact was when Megan enrolled in my senior-level Logistics class, where I was delighted to discover her more matured perceptions on. . . .”

Some writers go so far as to open their letter with a brief narrative as a way to capture audience attention. Note this example excerpted from a letter in Chapter 5:

Perhaps the most memorable discussion I’ve ever had with a student about his decision to switch majors was three years ago. The student was a first-year Polymer Science and Engineering major on a scholarship, taking my introductory film class as an elective, and he told me he was considering a switch to Film. Assuming that this student was simply running into typical academic problems in first-year chemistry and physics courses, I asked how those courses were going. “Oh, I’m getting As in those,” he assured me with a calm wave of his hand. “But I long to study Film.” That student was John Lerner.

Beware of overuse or digressive use of narrative. Use it selectively to enhance the letter’s readability and show growth and change over the student’s career.

Striking the Right Tone

An ideal tone is one that suggests warm familiarity with and confidence in a student—the implication is that you approve of the student as a person and take the student seriously. Some ideas for fostering such a tone are:

• after the initial formal introduction, refer to the student by first name;
• narrate a personal interaction that took place in your office or elsewhere;
• recall your first impressions of the student, then contrast these with later ones;
• present intriguing asides such as spontaneous discussions or shared interests or backgrounds;
• describe the student’s specific contribution to your relationship;
• supply information demonstrating that you and the student have discussed career plans or graduate school.

Avoid such tonal extremes as referring to the student by last name only or excessively glorifying the student. A letter that becomes too flattering about the student or too personal in detail might actually do more harm than good.

Managing Persona

A touchy subject, this. We all develop particular habits as writers and often cling to them tenaciously, and when writing a letter we might think that we should produce a document either stripped of personality or one that is so personal in voice that it’s full of idiosyncrasy. Given that the persona one adopts in a letter can influence the reader’s opinion of the candidate highly, the prudent choice is to think about the student’s needs and the reader’s needs as primary and directive.

The writer’s persona should be a natural yet subdued part of any professional letter of recommendation. In an effort to add flair, it may be tempting to make clever parenthetical comments, digress, or even provide so much nifty narration that the student’s accomplishments get buried in a needlessly nimble plot. Conversely, some writers make the mistake of adopting such a clinical or artificially genteel manner that the letter might seem to have been written by a robot or a polished butler. Consider how dispassionate an employer or selection committee can become about a candidate when put off by the letter writer’s persona. I’ve been on selection committees where the members were openly judgmental of and distracted by the letter writer’s style, and thus the focus became on the writer’s quirks rather than the candidate’s strengths.

The bottom line is that your voice should suit the situation first and you second. Write with a persona that will humanize both you and the student, but keep the focus positively on the student, not on yourself or on the letter itself.

One of the distinctions of effective writers is their facility with active verbs. Active verbs carry analytical meaning with efficiency, and when selectively applied to a student’s accomplishments, simplify the goal of categorizing and interpreting the kinds of merits that a student has accrued. They can also help present a student as positive and energetic, admired and respected, mature and serious. In these excerpts from sample letters in Chapter 5, note how the active verbs are used creatively and repeatedly to uplift the student:

Although Janet struggled to see her own potential earlier in her college career, encouragement from her advisor as well as her labmates, coupled with her own growing desire to succeed, transformed this once tentative student into an important contributor to the lab.

Mr. Lerner challenged his class to find multiple ways to make a bulb light using only one battery, one bulb, and one wire.

She developed a solution, built the necessary coalition, developed creative compromises, and worked through to the proposal’s enactment.

For a partial list of some of the active verbs most commonly and effectively used in recommendation letters, consult the list below.

Active Verbs that Establish Potential, Define Character, and Underscore Accomplishment

Accepted Achieved Adapted Adjusted Administered Advised Allocated Analyzed Appraised Approved Arranged Assembled Assessed Assigned Assisted Balanced Budgeted Built Calculated Catalogued Checked Clarified Classified Collected Communicated Compared Compiled Composed Computed Conceived Conducted Confronted Constructed Consulted Contracted Controlled Converted Conveyed Coordinated

Correlated Counseled Created Critiqued Defined Delegated Demonstrated Denounced Designed Detailed Determined Developed Devised Diagnosed Directed Discovered Displayed Dissected Distributed Drafted Earned Edited Effected Empowered Encouraged Enforced Engineered Enlarged Enlightened Enlisted Established Estimated Evaluated Examined Executed Expanded Experienced Experimented Explained

Facilitated Formed Formulated Founded Generated Governed Grouped Guided Handled Headed Helped Honored Implemented Improved Improvised Increased Indexed Informed Initiated Innovated Inspected Inspired Installed Integrated Interviewed Investigated Jointed Judged Juried Justified Kept Keynoted Lectured Led Linked Maintained Managed Mapped Measured

Mediated Modeled Moderated Monitored Motivated Navigated Negotiated Nominated Normalized Noted Observed Operated Ordered Organized Originated Overcame Participated Performed Persuaded Pioneered Planned Positioned Predicted Prepared Presented Presided Prioritized Produced Programmed Promoted Protected Provided Qualified Quantified Queried Questioned Quizzed Recognized Recommended

Reconciled Recorded Recruited Reinvented Reorganized Reported Researched Retrieved Reviewed Revised Scheduled Screened Served Shaped Simplified Solved Sorted Sparked Strategized Strengthened Supervised Systematized Tabulated Tended Timed Trained Transcribed Transformed Translated Underscored Undertook Unified Utilized Validated Valued Verified Volunteered Witnessed Wrote

 

As a reader, I often find that so much depends on contextual clues the writer provides. Note how the example below, excerpted from a letter in Chapter 6, consistently provides contextual clues related to time ("Over the past year . . ."), content (The NIWC is a cross-community coalition . . ."), and background ("She spent three months in Belfast . . .") about both letter writer and student.

Over the past year I have watched Janet’s interest in Peace and Conflict Studies blossom into a very powerful thesis topic on issues of gender and politics in Northern Ireland. My area of expertise is in the area of gender and nationalism in Northern Ireland; for this reason I am confident when I say she has chosen a fascinating topic for exploration. As part of her research, Janet conducted a case study of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC) last summer. She spent three months in Belfast conducting ethnographic and archival research. The NIWC is a cross-community coalition that was formed in 1996 and fully participated in the peace talks which led to the signing of the Easter Agreement. Recently, the NIWC has found itself at the center of political debates focused on issues of gender, class, and nationalism.

Seeking even more contextual efficiency than in the above example, many writers embrace the economy and fluidity fostered by single transition words, especially as they open paragraphs. When a closing paragraph of a recommendation letter begins with a simple transition word such as “Clearly” or “Indeed,” readers sense that the student is viewed in a warm, subjective, and emphatic manner, and they are invited to agree with the detail and spirit of that assessment. A simple transition word also has much more impact than some informal and inefficient phrasing such as “As far as the way I currently see Daniella overall. . . .” Bleah.

Below is a list of transition words that many writers find helpful. As a teacher of writing, I’m always slightly hesitant about providing word lists for fear that writers will simply select from them blindly—a “plug and chug” mentality—or reject the idea of a word list as too elementary. However, my experience with faculty has been that they do appreciate lists and use them appropriately as they consider options for how best to argue a student’s case.

Common Transition Words and Their Functions
Interpretation Fortunately Interestingly Significantly Surprisingly Closure Finally In sum On the whole Causality Accordingly Consequently For this reason Hence Therefore Thus Similarity Likewise Similarly	Amplification Again Also Equally important First, Second, etc. Further In addition Moreover Emphasis Above all Certainly Clearly Indeed In fact In short Obviously Of course Example For example For instance To illustrate	Time Afterward Earlier Next simultaneously Soon Contrast However In contrast Nevertheless On the contrary On the other hand Still Detail In essence In particular In relation to Impressively Namely Specifically To enumerate

In addition to the transition words listed above, you might find frequent use for simple contextual transitions that announce a paragraph or sentence topic simply by categorizing the criterion that you are about to address—words such as “Academically,” “Analytically,” “Athletically,” “Culturally,” “Intellectually,” “Linguistically,” “Scholastically,” “Socially.” Such words are valuable because they lend economy and establish immediate focus. However, avoid nonstandard usage of the suffix “-wise” to mean “in relation to”; such a practice creates irritating coined words such as “Knowledgewise,” or “Intellectualwise,” resulting in sloppy writing (and, in the two cases just cited, unintentional irony).

 

Chapter 1 thoroughly discusses the issue of how to give praise effectively. Both in the literature and anecdotally, letter readers note that the superlatives used in a recommendation letter can be the most revealing characteristic of all. In particular, adjectives that express the level of quality in a student’s work or character—especially when they are presented with ethos and amidst convincing evidence—demonstrate both your belief in the student and your acumen as an evaluator.

Adapting from a study of 625 reference letters (1), what follows is a short list of some of the superlatives used in those letters, categorized here by function:

Intellect	Work Ethic	Temperment	Vigor
imaginative insightful intelligent discerning knowledgeable original analytical far-sighted logical skilled   astute adaptable resourceful self-reliant thoughtful judicious perceptive inquisitive bright	precise persistent resolute serious committed orderly prompt efficient responsible persevering sure alert businesslike thorough confident tenacious hard-working methodical determined	good-natured likeable considerate affable patient tolerant composed restrained earnest bold gregarious polished adventurous team-oriented spirited sociable open frank assured	active energetic self-starting enthusiastic vigorous pace-setting eager diligent zealous fast productive enterprising certain speedy self-driving independent ambitious on-the-ball industrious

What’s especially interesting about this list, which can be used to generate ideas for superlatives when writing letters, is how the adjectives most definitive of work ethic and character (“pace-setting,” “tenacious,” “on-the-ball”) immediately suggest that the evaluator has thoughtfully assessed the student’s talents in context rather than just plugged in a term arbitrarily. One working in a lab where radioactive waste is handled, for example, needs to be “diligent,” “orderly,” and even “fastidious”; one seeking to teach poetry writing needs to be “creative,” “understanding,” and “enthusiastic.”

In this example—a paragraph taken from a sample letter in Chapter 6—we see how superlatives can be used both to leverage the student and to define a field in which the student works:

As Janet dared in English, she has come to dare in her other choices: in her application to and involvement in the Bucknell NSF-REU in physics; in her summer work with the Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute funded by NSF and NIH. A technical and rapidly expanding field such as neurophysics requires students to think out of the box. If ever a student were capable of extraordinary achievement in such a field, Janet is it—precisely because she thinks out of so many boxes simultaneously. Janet’s abilities extend from sophisticated mathematics to the clear articulation of computational problems and solutions; from high-level physics to the demonstration of concepts; from the smallest detail (or molecule, as she might say) to the biggest picture (or, the cosmos).

Of course, one needs to practice restraint when praising a student’s abilities as well. As one group of authors from a recent study on recommendation letters noted: “A member of my department once expressed to me his frustration that the prevalence of superlatives made it impossible to make anyone believe how good a certain student of ours actually was” (2). By sheer volume or the whiff of exaggeration, superlatives applied to a student’s accomplishments, especially without contextual evidence to back them up, might simply cloud judgment. Encomium heaped too generously only invites doubt.