Reference Letters

Dear Students,

If you are planning on asking for letters of reference from me please be aware that I process many of these each year. I am happy to do so, but I appreciate any help you can offer with the logistics. Two points to remember are 1) the best references are the people who know you or your work well and 2) everything you can do to make the process easier for the referee (me) is important.

Please provide me with the following:

  1. A printed list of all the places, addresses, DEADLINES, etc. that I need to adhere to. Email is great to let me know, but if you have a lot of reference requests, creating a paper table helps me keep organized.
  2. Printed copies of all necessary forms and documents. Some applications are entirely electronic and these can be noted in (1) above. For those that require forms, please fill out the student sections and provide me with paper copies.
  3. If you're far away and we're doing this via email, please send me electronic versions of the forms with your section filled out. These can be in any word processing program or as fill-able PDFs. Please try not to point me to websites, as I often work away from internet access.
  4. For letters that are to be mailed, please include addressed, stamped envelopes. You should sort the documents so that the forms and envelopes are paper-clipped together and all of the documents arrive for me in a big envelope or file folder.
  5. Your proposal, cv, or writing sample. Paper copies (electronic if we are emailing) of the first two are important and should be in your package to me. Most reference forms require that I state whether I have seen your proposal. Also, knowing what you plan and the quality of your proposal helps me write your letter. You can also email me any writing sample that you plan on sending to the schools.
  6. Adequate time. Like all of us, I am busy, so please give me as much warning as possible. I will help out in emergencies, but applications are usually prepared well in advance of the deadlines. If you need a letter within 2-3 weeks, please mark your email "URGENT". Its not that urgent, but the word will make me pay attention and get to it right away.
  7. Please pester me. If the deadline is looming, a short note or phone call to check up on me is a good idea. Ask after the kids, talk about the weather, by then I should have either clued in to who you are and the fact that I promised you something that I did not do or I will have announced triumphantly that I do know who you are and I did remember.
  8. While I love text shorthand as much as the next fellow, some effort at proper punctuation, grammar, and spelling is appreciated.
  9. Be aware that I never did any of these things for my references as an undergraduate and for this I am very, very sorry.

Thanks, AM

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