Appendix G Sample Letters of Recommendation

A. For an excellent student whom you know well January 17, 2007 It is a true pleasure for me to write this letter of recommendation for andra !arcia, who was my student in ociolo"y 11#, $Introduction to ociolo"y,% in the winter term of 200&. andra is, with'out (uestion, one of the four or fi)e most outstandin" students I ha)e tau"ht at *i" tate +ni)ersity in six semesters of teachin". andra is a careful and creati)e thinker with an eye for details and a de)otion to lo"ic, which ser)es her well ,oth in the sciences and outside them. he has the terrific a,ility to draw on her own experi'ence and o,ser)ations to de)elop thou"htful opinions on a )ariety of issues. andra already knew she wanted to ma-or in ,iolo"y when she took my course, ,ut this did not diminish her intellectual curiosity a,out the topics we co)ered in introductory sociolo"y. .er re"ular contri,utions to full'class discussions pro)ided insi"ht ,oth for her peers and for me as an instructor. andra was also in)alua,le in small'"roup interaction with her peers. /ithout my askin", she took on the responsi,ility of helpin" her classmates consolidate )ast amounts of information into coher'ent sets of ideas, and she (uickly ,ecame a study "roup leader. In addition, andra was )ery "enerous with her time and ener"ies. I remem,er her meetin" indi)idually with a student from 0hailand se)eral times ,efore the final exam to help him master all the material in a forei"n ton"ue. andra ,reaks the $scientist% stereotype with her writin"1 she was the ,est writer in the two sections I tau"ht that semester. And what was perhaps e)en more impressi)e was that she took the task of impro)in" her writin" as or more seriously than any other student in the class. 2ne of her essays was later pu,lished in the annual ma"a3ine of the ,est under"raduate essays written in sociolo"y. andra is not only an excellent student, ,ut she is also personally deli"htful. he is as comforta,le with herself as she is en"a"in", pleasant, and humorous. As I "ot to know andra o)er the semester, I ,ecame only more impressed ,y the wide ran"e of her a,ilities4and ,y her modesty a,out them. he is an accomplished musi'cian and scientist, ,oth of which she does with a passion rare in under"raduates. I wholeheartedly recommend andra as a prospecti)e medical school student. In fact, I can think of few students whom I would recommend as hi"hly. he will add a "reat deal to any incomin" medical school class. I can also en)ision andra as a hi"hly compe'tent and carin" doctor someday, which I say as a hi"h compliment indeed. 5lease contact me if there is anythin" else I can do on her ,ehalf. incerely, 5eter e)ers, 6.A. !raduate tudent Instructor

*. For a "ood student whom you do not know well # January 2007 I am pleased to recommend 7atasha 8incaid for admission to the 0eacher 9ducation 5ro"ram. 7atasha was my student in *iolo"y 210 :;ell *iolo"y<, and she pro)ed to ,e a model student. he is extremely conscientious a,out her work and a,out attendin" class and la,. *ecause of her hard work, she consistently scored in the top ten percent on all the exams and pro,lem sets. .er work demonstrates an attention to detail and an a,ility to inte"rate material to create lar"er frameworks for discussion. 7atasha made intelli"ent and insi"htful contri,utions durin" full'class discussion, ,ut it was in la, that her enthusiasm and teachin" a,ilities shone. After the first week, she ,ecame the leader of her la, "roup, and I would often see her patiently explainin" a procedure or a concept to her la, mates :and often those in the nei"h,orin" la, "roup as well=<. he took the initiati)e to or"ani3e and lead class re)iews ,efore the exams, and other students told me afterwards how helpful these sessions were. I ,elie)e that 7atasha>s stron" academic a,ilities and her clear dedi'cation to teachin" make her a )ery stron" candidate for the 0eacher 9ducation 5ro"ram. If there are any (uestions I can answer, please feel free to contact me. 6rinal 6ukher-ee

!raduate tudent Instructor ;. For an a)era"e student ?0 June 2007

I am pleased to write a letter of recommendation for !eor"e !ump as part of his application to dentistry school. As !eor"e>s instructor for 6ath 2?# : et 0heory<, I found him to ,e a conscientious and hardworkin" student. 0he course was not re(uired for !eor"e>s ma-or@ he took it out of intellectual interest, and he approached the material with the same curiosity and determination that he applies in ,iolo"y and medicine. !eor"e>s work on the pro,lem sets and exams demonstrated careful attention to detail. .e was also a,le and willin" to articulate his (uestions a,out the more a,stract notions of set theory, a "enuine asset for many of his classmates and the class dynamic as a whole. !eor"e is an extremely persona,le youn" man who seems e(ually comforta,le with his peers and with faculty. .e has talked with me a,out his "oal of ,ecomin" a dentist, and I ha)e en-oyed seein" such enthusiasm in an under"raduate a,out a professional career. !eor"e>s commitment to the field and his hard work in pursuin" his "oals will ser)e him well in dentistry school. 5lease contact me if I can answer any further (uestions. incerely,

8elly Atkins, 5h.A. Becturer