内容要点:推荐人与申请者的关系类型、申请者的学术与课外表现、推荐人对申请者的评价与期望
借鉴写法:列举具体关系类型、使用场景化开头句、分段突出核心品质
行文逻辑:介绍背景→分析结构→讲解格式→总结要点
几乎所有的大学都会要求申请人提交推荐信(recommendation letter),评审委员根据推荐者的文字描述,可以了解申请人的背景状况。它可以说明各种成绩数字以外的其他情况,补充过于计量化、公式化审核的一种评估方式。在决定出国申请是否成功的诸多要素中,有力的推荐信是录取的重要条件之一,其份量仅次于于本科成绩单和标准化考试(gre、gmat、toefl)成绩。
同学们所申请的大学一般要求三封推荐信。推荐人的身份可以是曾经教你的教授,或者现(曾)职工作单位主管,自己视学校要求和自己的需要组合。例如,如果你毕业十年,你的推荐信可应有二封由工作主管来写为宜,而毕业一两年顶多一封即足够。
推荐人的职务并不一定愈高愈有利,相反地,认识你的时间较长,虽然职位不高,但是由于对你有着清楚地了解,所以其撰写的内容往往能够适当地表达你的个性(personality)。这才是上乘的推荐。
接下来,我们将通过实例来讨论推荐信包含的主要内容,基本结构,以及通常可以套用的模式。
例如:
to whom it may concern:
i take great pleasure in recommending miss××, a promising girl as a worthy candidate for admission and financial aids to your prodigious university. as her undergraduate advisor, i had known her for nearly four years. in this letter i would like to share with you my perspectives on this exceptional young lady.
miss×× strikes a balance in academic and extracurricular activities, which is rarely seen in university students. from an education perspective, i think miss×× is the type of student who can go far and broad as an integrated human being to fulfill academic mission and social responsibility.
when i taught her ××(课程), unlike many other students loafing time in heavy complaints about the boring stuff, she was self-disciplined with the fundamentals and made step-by-step progress. she was also self-navigated. in addition to class assignments, she proactively broadened herself asking for extra reading list from me. naturally, she got good scores of 91 and 92 points respectively. in the meantime, she has obtained a macroview on the development of the schools of ×× and the trend of thought, which will establish solid basis for her future research in ××field.
besides her academic activities, i also attracted by her social activities and capabilities. miss×× has a strong ability in organizing, leading and controlling extracurricular activities. in the past three years she has organized many activities successfully. in particular, she took part in ××(association). through a series of activities, many people were impressed by her leadership, humor and eloquence. she was elected as a student representative to take the speech in## delivered by ×× president and sponsored “##”, a large-scaled sale for charity in cooperation with ××(公司名称) to which she invited many ambassadors or cultural chancellors and raised an assistance fund. eventually, she received a highest honorary school diploma signed personally by the president of ××(大学名称) for her performance in such activities.
all the observation on shanshan in closeness leads to the conclusion that she is both a candidate qualified for your graduate program towards a higher degree and a citizen that will impact the communities in neighborhood with knowledge and enthusiasm. if you need more information concerning her, please contact me freely.
sincerely,
xxxxxx
根据这封推荐信,我们可以对推荐信的内容,结构和模式有非常直观的认识。
第一, 从内容来看,推荐信包括以下几个部分:
1. 推荐人和申请者之间的关系;
推荐人和申请者的关系一般有以下几种:
1)师生关系(导师和学生,任课老师和学生,班主任和学生,系院领导和学生);
2)上级和下属关系;
3)同事关系;
4)实习单位领导和实习生的关系。
2. 两人认识时间、经过;
3. 申请者的哪些素质给推荐人留下了深刻的印象(推荐人赞赏你哪些品质这是推荐的核心);
4. 对申请者寄予什么样的希望(寄予的希望一般都会是希望申请者在申请的领域里继续深造,终有所成就)。
第二,从整体结构来看,通常说来一封推荐信可以分别用以下三种结构来体现:
1. 总分总结构
2. 总分结构
3. 分总结构
而从单独的段落来讲,也可以是这三种结构。
但是由于申请材料众多,为了让评审的教授能够在很短的时间内对你的特点有所印象,建议大家不管是整体的结构还是段落的结构都使用前面两种:
1 总分总结构
2 总分结构。
这封推荐信在总体结构上采用了总分总的机构,在具体特点的推荐上采用了总分的结构。
第三,推荐信其格式有些模式可循,以下将针对各段提供模式作参考:
(一)抬头可用的格式有:
dear sir/madam/to whom it may concern:
(二)第一段:引文句子。可以引用如:
“it is a pleasure to recommend to you (name), a former student of mine at (name of university).”
“i am very happy to have this opportunity to recommend (name), who is presently applying for admission to your graduate (or undergraduate) program in (name of program).”
“i understand that (name) is applying for admissions to your graduate (undergraduate) school, and has requested that i write this letter of recommendation for her/him.”
“in my capacity as professor at xxxx university, i have known xxx for three years, as both his/her advisor and professor.”
(三)第二段:这段可以提供实质的内容。譬如,如果推荐人是教授,解释学生在他门下所修的课程。
“(name) took two of my courses during the 1998-99 academic year, as follows; “xxxxx” and “xxxxx”.”
“(name) was enrolled in three of classes from september 1998 to june 1999 “xxx” and “xxx”.”
接下来,教授写一些有关申请人在课堂上的表现,如完成的研究计划、实验室研究、研究报告、考试的成绩、课堂态度、讨论课的参与等,举出实例。
“in my class (es), (name) did excellent work. she always listened attentively, participated actively in class, and handed in very good written assignment.
“in particular, his/her research paper on (topic) was of exceptionally high quality, and showed that s/he fully understands and has a strong background in his/her field.”
如果推荐人是工作主管,首先一定要仔细陈述申请人的工作职责,并对申请者的工作表现做一评估。如果可能的话尽量列举实例。
“when (name) held the position of (job title) in this company she was one s/he was one of my best employees. his/her job responsibilities included (describe them), and s/he carried out his/her duties with exceptional skill and professionalism.”
“s/he not only did his/her own work, but also helped other employees, and made many valuable contributions to the efficient running to our firm.”
第二段后一段:可以提及申请人在班上(或公司里)的比较表现(譬如排名):
“i was rate (name)’s academic ability as in the top 10% of his/her class.”
“compared against other students that i have taught, i would say that (name) ranks in the upper 10%.
接下来,推荐人可对申请人能否成功完成学业提出看法。举例:
“based on his/her previous performance, i am certain that (name) would be a very successful student at your university.”
“i believe that (name) possesses all the qualities necessary to make an excellent graduate student in his/her chosen field, and am sure that s/he will make a fine addition to your campus.”
(四)第三段:如果还有其他话想说,请另写一段。
例如:英文能力、沟通技巧、领导才能、特殊学术或工作背景。譬如说,如果申请人欲申请的科系是企管系,推荐人可着力描写他们有关申请者商业的专门技术、领导才能,以及申请者所参加的商业活动。例如,有关商业方面的组织社团。又如,申请人申请护理研究所,推荐人可着力描写他们关怀的态度,处理实验室的技能,或是对病人的奉献。
(五)后,以几句结尾做总结;
“therefore, i am happy to highly and without reservation recommend (name) for admission to your graduate program. your kind/serious consideration of his/her application would be most appreciated.”
“i am thus pleased to give my full support and recommendation to (name)’s application for admission to your school. if any further information is required, please feel free to contact me.”
(六)签名:
sincerely/sincerely yours/very truly yours,
with best regards,
内容要点:分析学校专业特点、明确个人优缺点、选择合适推荐人
借鉴写法:分点说明结构、具体要素列举
行文逻辑:分析需求→梳理内容→确定结构→列出要素→强调重点
推荐信是留学申请过程中,难由自己掌握的部分,也由于他是众多申请材料中少数能从第三者的可观角度评关申请者的文件,因此有重要的地位。推荐信可以从三个方向着手:
1. 就学校方面
首先,必须先了解申请专业的特点(推荐信内容可以强调此特点);整理各校对推荐信内容的要求,即可得到关于评估的基本要求(例如,学术研究能力、创造力等),以及特殊要求(例如,对研究领域的适应度等)。试想:你认为录取委员会希望由推荐信获取那些关于你的信息。
2.就个人方面
分析自己的优缺点,在校成绩以及工作表现,有无特殊经历可以展现自己在此研究领域的潜力,或拥有那些特殊的能力,依此作为选择老师写推荐信及提供了解你的基础。并以明确具体的证据来支持证明自己的特殊能力和个人特点(例如,试验成果、研究计划、学术出版物、课外活动等)。
2. 就推荐者方面
推荐信是了解申请人的重要依据,在研究生课程中尤其如此。申请人可以选择现在或以前的老师、教授或雇主。推荐人必须熟悉学生的学习情况,了解学生的学习目的是否明确,在学术上是否有前途,以及学生的适应能力、创造能力、品行和特长。书写推荐信的理想的人选是一封由系主任写,一封由专业课教授写,一封由自己的导师写。不过,对方若无规定,则除了自己的亲属之外,任何人皆可为推荐人。推荐人一般应具备高级技术职称,如教授、副教授、研究员、副研究员等。如果推荐人在国内外学术界享有盛誉,或者被申请就读学校聘为客座教授,或者曾经在该校讲过学,那么这样的推荐人写的推荐信就具有很强的效力了。
注意事项
一般而言,推荐信需要三封,好三封各有其强调的重点,以完全申请人的特点与才华,推荐信的基本组成除信头、发信日期、收信人性命、地址、称呼、签名、推荐人性命、职务等外,信件内容还应包括以下各项:
1. 被推荐者全名:不可全文都只写mr. huang和miss he,需要明确写出被推荐者的全明至少。
2. 认识期间:何时认识或认识多久。
3. 认识程度:偶尔见面或者密切接触,例如任课老师或者班主任等。
4. 与申请人之间的关系:老师或者部门主管等。
5. 学业成绩:讨论申请人擅长与不擅长的学习领域。
6. 个人成就:在学校、工作或家庭中的特殊表现。如曾经获得某种奖学金、工作中表现优秀等。
7. 特殊才能:语言、艺术、体育等方面的特殊能力。
内容要点:根据学校要求选择推荐人、需要推荐人提供邮箱地址、推荐信需用单位抬头纸打印
借鉴写法:明确推荐信数量、说明网上提交流程
行文逻辑:说明推荐信数量→讲解网上提交流程→指导推荐信格式要求
韩国留学德国留学新西兰留学出国留学美国留学澳大利亚留学法国留学
1、根据所申学校要求选择推荐老师或是同龄人撰写推荐信。一般是三封,具体数量和要求根据学校要求而定。
2、有些学校需要推荐人在网上提交推荐信,需要推荐人提供自己的邮箱地址。申请者可以选择帮助推荐人申请一个邮箱,或者让推荐人将收到的邮件转发给自己处理。
3、推荐信要用推荐人所在单位抬头纸打印,落款处签字,放入推荐人所在单位信封里(若所在单位没有自己信封可用普通的信封代替),并在信封两边封口处签字。
4、申请过程中,需要推荐人写一封推荐信的同时填写一些英文表格,由于表格杂且多,需要提前和推荐人打招呼,并和推荐人商量是否可以找人代签。
5、推荐信一般与其他资料一并寄出,建议在11月之前完成。
6、有的学校要求推荐信由推荐人处寄出,如果有此条件可这样操作,如果没有,即可把密封的成绩单放入所有材料内一并寄出。