# Letters of Recommendation

2016-11-05 · https://fsgeek.ca/log/letters-of-recommendation/

Once again, I find myself in the position of asking people to write letters of recommendation. My usual MO for this is to first ask if they are willing to do so. I make it clear that I will provide them with a template letter which they can then modify as they see fit - after all it is **their** letter, but it is to my benefit. Thus, I want to minimize the hassle for them and ensure that the letter is strong. 

> In that context, I ran across this [awesome post on Quora by Dr. Richard Muller ](https://www.quora.com/Is-it-normal-for-professors-to-refuse-to-write-a-recommendation-letter-until-that-student-gets-an-A)about what he asks students to write up to assist him. The gist of this was his requirement that someone give him an  _interview_ : 
> 
> My first step is to interview the student. I ask to be reminded of every time in the past we had interacted, if at all. Normally I mention these times in my letter; it helped the reader to recognize that the student was active.
> 
> Then I ask for any things that the student worried about, bad grades in other courses, for example. We then discussed them, and in my letter I might mention the fact that I was familiar with it (with a D, for example, in another class) and I would describe why (if true) I didn't think that should be used as a negative. (Typically the student had a good reason.)
> 
> I ask the student to write me a page describing what he thinks of himself/herself, and what the student does outside of classwork. That's based on my experience that those reading my letter often like candidates more if the student was well-rounded and personable.

I thought this was brilliant and plan on using this moving forward.