Recommendation Letter Questionnaire

I am more than happy to write a recommendation letter for you! It’s part of my job, after all. It will save me time, and lead to a better letter, if you can fill out the following information and send it to me both in the text of an email and as an attachment:

Logistics

Student Name:

Submission Deadline:

Nature of the Recommendation (i.e. briefly describe the grant or fellowship):

Website Link for the Opportunity:

To whom should the recommendation letter be addressed?:

How does the letter need to be submitted (e.g. by email, online, by post)?:

Substance

How do we know each other, and for how long? (E.g. please list the classes you’ve taken, etc.):

If you’ve taken a class with me, please remind me what grades you received, and if there were any assignments (especially papers) you were particularly proud of. (It would also be helpful to include the paper or assignment that you are most proud of as an attachment.) :

What are your educational or career goals? How does this opportunity fit into that trajectory?:

Are there specific ideas and themes you would like me to emphasize in the recommendation letter? Any weaknesses in your record you would like me to explain or help minimize?:

What are three adjectives that you could imagine describing you in a recommendation letter, and what are some examples of how I might have observed those traits (optional but helpful):

I will send you a confirmation email when I have submitted the recommendation. If you have not heard back from me one week before the deadline, please send me a reminder.

If at all possible, please enable me to submit all of the recommendations at the same time (i.e. trigger the automated emails even for more distant deadlines right away).

(Hat tip to Christina Ludema for the format.)