Letters of recommendation tips for teachers

Information to be included at the beginning

z Your status at the school and job title
z How long have you known the student and in what capacity?
z What is their relationship (teacher/student, employer/employee, etc.)?
z

You CAN but don’t have to (if not applicable) talk about these points in your
assessment of your student in the rest of the letter:
z Intellectual ability and character
z Knowledge of field
z Work habits
z Academic potential
z Motivation to pursue study
z Seriousness of purpose
z Emotional maturity
z Resourcefulness and initiative
z Adaptability to new situations
z Leadership qualities
z Interaction in class
z Potential for future contribution in the field
z Student’s activities outside of classroom (school clubs, sports, volunteering, other
extracurriculars, competitions etc.)
z Creativity, innovation, ability to think outside of box
z You can quote another teachers’ opinion about the student
z How does that student compare with other students in his generation or your other
students in general? (positive, negative, more/less, never, ever, very rarely…)
z Do you happen to know of any circumstances of student’s life (good or bad) that
could have influenced or did influence his/her grades, emotions, work habits or
life in general?

Additional tips:
- The better you know the student, the more effective your recommendation will be.
Colleges want specifics, not generalizations. It is good to say that someone is hard working and
organized but you need to substantiate these statements with concrete examples. “Samuel is a
hard working student. His science project on inventing an alternative rocket fuel was an
impressive demonstration of his ability to apply statistics and analyze data that is way above his
current school grade level.”
- Talk about what the student has done and is capable of doing. What is it exactly about
the student that makes him special? Why do you think this student would benefit from studying in
the US?
- Evaluate the student by comparing him with other students you have observed in
your work. The above is a suggestion of the categories you may wish to use for comparison. You
can use phrases such as excellent, very good, good, average or below average.
- It is ok to say no to a student asking you to write a recommendation letter for him/her! If
you don’t feel like you know a student well, or you feel you could not give him/her the best
possible recommendation, please say no!