The Art of the Recommendation Letter Mary Swanson and Nancy Levinger Colorado State University Professional Development Institute 2016

Activity 1 Read the description of the student applicant Brainstorm about adjectives you would use to describe the student Discuss in your group Report the student name, group and the adjectives your group chose

Language we use Gender and racial bias Studies show that we all have bias Language used to describe white men overshadows that for Women Underrepresented minorities (e.g., African-American, Latino, etc.) Careful monitoring can mitigate bias in recommendations Test your bias at Project Implicit: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html Test your letter at: http://www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/ See for example: Schmader, et al., Sex Roles, 2007, 57, 509–514; Moss-Racusin, et al., PNAS, 2012, 109, 16474–16479.

Activity 2 Read the description of the student applicant Brainstorm about what characteristics you would use to describe the student Discuss in your group Report the student name, group and the characteristics your group would highlight in a letter

Applicant’s Job Provide information for recommender CV/resume Description of future goals Description of scholarship/job/graduate application Applicant qualifications for the position/scholarship/award Do NOT ask applicant/nominee to write their own letter

Recommender’s Job Recommender/applicant relationship how long do you know the applicant? in what capacity do you know the applicant? How have you interacted with the applicant? Provide context for applicant’s achievements Vision for future Applicant’s qualifications Applicant’s potential Recommender’s personal knowledge of applicant Focus letter toward the scholarship/job/school Sometimes a direct comparison is appropriate

Now that you have agreed to write… Structure of the letter Opening paragraph Body of the letter Final paragraph

Opening paragraph Introduction Who does the letter support? For what are they applying? What is your relationship to the applicant? In what context do you know the applicant? For how long have you known the applicant? Why are you qualified to Recommend this candidate? Recommend for this job? What do you know that others do not? What special knowledge do you have? What are you qualified to say?

Letter of recommendation Body Applicant activities and accomplishments Not just a summary! Why is this applicant great? First hand knowledge Other relevant information, e.g., from other people

Letter of recommendation Final paragraph Restatement of who and what Places the recommendation in the context of the program Shows why and how applicant matches the call

Knowing when (and how) to say “No” Do you have time? How well do you know the applicant? Can you give a positive recommendation? Are you qualified to recommend for the position? Are you the best person to support the applicant?

Activity 3 Write an introductory, body or final paragraph about… One of our student descriptions OR A person you know for whom you are writing or are likely to write …a letter of recommendation

Thanks for your participation! Please fill out an evaluation survey Mary.Swanson@Colostate.edu Nancy.Levinger@Colostate.edu Thanks to TILT for organizing the PDI!