Getting letters of recommendation

Approaching faculty mentors:

It is important to ask faculty members if they are willing to write on your behalf, and to discuss your choice of programs with them. Faculty advisors may help with identifying programs that are a good fit for you.

When presenting your list of schools and deadlines to recommenders, use the spelling of your name that you want to appear on your letters of recommendation.

If your e-mail address is unprofessional in appearance, get a new one. You will need to present yourself professionally at some point over electronic communication.

Always sign the waiver of your right to see the letters of recommendation, or Admissions will not take your letters as seriously. The time to worry about what your recommenders will write is BEFORE you choose your recommenders.

If you are currently a graduate student, try to get letters that represent all aspects of your professional life: ask persons who can recommend you by representing your thesis project, your teaching experience and skills, your past academic achievement and future promise.

Getting letters from me:

In order to write letters, I ask for the following (others may ask for a different set of things):

A) a resume/ "curriculum vitae" [it means, "course of life"] even if it is only a draft; this helps with factual accuracy and introduces me to accomplishment of yours beyond what I have seen [Hint: get advice on resume design in order to succeed in the long run]

[For graduate students-- publication and presentation: Start practicing presenting your work at academic conferences, and start sending out papers to places that might publish them. The world of writing is not getting less competitive. Build your resume. ]

B) a list of all the schools to which you are applying, together with application deadlines; provide the complete addresses, electronically, of those needing paper letters, in order to save me time in typing addresses; provide pre-addressed and stamped envelopes for each paper letter, and the proper forms (usually signed by you) for each school.

Also, for each school, make it clear if you are applying for the Ph.D., M.A., M.F. A., (or of course, law school). Make it clear what your intended field is: creative writing? literature? a combined or interdisciplinary program of some kind? Remember that some programs may have more teaching assistantships and money available for doctoral students than for master's students. On the other hand, you are likely to be more employable as a master's holder rather than a Ph.D. holder.

C) Writing samples: For my purposes in recommending you, these should be your very best academic work. Add creative writing samples if relevant, but my contribution to your candidacy is usually on the academic side.

Discuss the writing sample or portfolio to be submitted with your applications with your primary faculty mentor. Evaluate how well the sample matches the program objectives.

If possible, give your writing sample a strong revision. Choose a sample that demonstrates your engagement with secondary sources and shows your ability to target key, even current issues in the field. Aim to make your sample look as much like a graduate-level seminar paper as possible, with a high degree of professionalism (proofread!).

D) List which courses you took with me, and give the years. [Recommendation forms ALWAYS ask about this.]

E) All applicants must receive mentoring regarding their application Statements (required for most graduate and professional programs). I am willing to provide feedback for any, but Creative Writing and Law School applicants will do best by talking to mentors in those fields.

Here are some guidelines for writing the Application Statement (though you can get better advice online or in graduate school application guidebooks). These guidelines are only meant as a basic start. The Write Place also has resources to help you.

Keep your letter to one page, single-spaced (some spill-over onto another page may be acceptable), unless the application form directs otherwise.

Be both distinctive and individual, and also professional (formal) in manner. Your goal is to create a coherent image of yourself as effective and interesting. You need to make professional sense as a candidate. Make a case for yourself and be clear.

Rearrange these topics to create an appropriate order:

1. Your research interests. Questions that motivate you. What is your M.A. thesis about? What is its argument and its research base? What key issues in the field are you engaging? What public or academic conversation are you joining? Conveying a sense of your thesis point would be effective. Specific successes you have had. Give specific titles of papers you have written (not too many) and titles of specific texts that your papers addressed. Have you presented any conference papers? Do you have a long essay that could be a publication?
2. Can you target specific aspects of the [program title to which you are applying] that make it ideal for your interests? Does the school have specific research centers, strengths, or emphases that make it relevant? You might want to put to rest the idea that you aren’t wiling to move to other states, if you are applying within Minnesota. Perhaps say something like “I am applying to programs nationwide with strengths in this field”. List specific faculty members in the program you are applying to that look promising to work with (don’t list just one, or that person may feel trapped into having you as Ph.D. student). Somehow acknowledge potential for your research interests to change as you pursue graduate coursework.
3. Your existing preparation for graduate study in that area. Emphasize preparation in critical theory as well as range of reading in literary history [or whatever your field is] by mentioning specific coursework. Part of your burden of proof as an applicant is to demonstrate that you won't drown in graduate or professional school; show that you have already written graduate-length and advanced-level papers (the thesis by itself demonstrates this, especially if it has been completed). You may want to mention solid , practical reasons for staying at SCSU (if you did so beyond undergraduate work) . Concisely state the advantages of our M.A. program – immediate chance to teach first-year writing with a class of your own, with personal mentorship  from the Composition Director and strong collegial support; strong program connecting Rhetoric to professional communication and to teaching; program that allows M.A. candidates to work across fields in both writing and literature; demanding ethic of teaching among graduate faculty, so that you prepared X number of papers longer than 15 pages as undergrad and grad student. [provide appropriate facts]. Mention specific advanced experiences you had in grad school – mention specific research projects for specific faculty members. This all shows awareness of professional issues.

At some point in all this, subtly convey that you are comfortable in working with secondary sources and with research. Ideally, show cognizance of advanced issues in the field. Sometimes simply providing your most effective seminar paper titles will do this. If it seems useful, mention specific course projects that professionalized you by providing intensive work with secondary sources or research.

4. What is your teaching experience and teaching philosophy? Specific methods you have had success with, and willingness to be T.A. Experience in teaching literary works? If you haven't taught before, at least signal your interest in teaching and any leadership experience you have had.
5. Relevant personal information; geographical issues (willingness to move), if relevant; show awareness of the length of doctoral study, and of the location of your future career not being entirely under your control. Some lively and interesting way of conveying your sense of commitment and dedication. It doesn't hurt to mention ideas for backup careers should you not get employment specifically in university professorships.

Here is Purdue University’s advice on writing the Personal Statement. Note, however, that this advice appears to be primarily targeting medical and law school applicants. But some of their overall points regarding how to sell yourself would help you succeed in any case: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/