Letter of Recommendation Template
[University Letter Head]
[Sender's Name]
[Sender's Address, Line 1]
[Sender's Address, Line 2]
[Sender's Phone Number]
[Sender's Fax Number]
[Sender's E-mail Address]
[Today's Date]
[Recipient's Name]
[Recipient's Address, Line 1]
[Recipient's Address, Line 2]
Dear [Recipient's Name] or
To Whom it May Concern,
It is my pleasure to
recommend Jane Doe for admission to [name of program] at [name of
university]. I am a fifth year Ph.D. student at the University of
California, Berkeley. I came to know Jane when I was her Graduate
Student Instructor for Philosophy 111: Ethical Relativism, taught by
Professor John Doe. The course comprised [short description of course].
Jane distinguished herself by submitting an exceptionally well
researched and interesting project on ethical practices in ancient
Greece. I would rank her in the top 2% of students that I have taught in
the past five years in respect of her writing ability and research
skills.
Overall, Jane is highly
intelligent and has good analytical skills. Her project on ethical
practices in ancient Greece demonstrated her ability to come a detailed
understanding of the ethical practices of another, very different
culture, and to analyze the consequences of those practices for
contemporary ethical theories. She gave a particularly interesting
discussion of the difficult practice of infanticide, and showed both
sensitivity and detachment when discussing its ethical consequences. Her
overall intelligence is also reflected in her grades for the course,
which were by far the best in the class.
Jane has excellent
communication skills. Her written work is both clear and concise, and
interesting to read. She demonstrated her oral articulateness in the
discussion sections that were an integral part of the course. Each
discussion section focused on a particular ethical dilemma. Students
were required analyze morally problematic situations, and to develop and
argue for their own ethical views with regard to the issue in question.
Jane was highly proficient in applying the course material in analyzing
the problem situations. She always explained her views very concisely
and gave supporting arguments that were both clear and persuasive. Jane
also demonstrated good team working skills in group assignments.
At a personal level, Jane
is a well disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality.
She went well beyond the course requirements in the quantity and quality
of her project, putting in a lot of extra research and attending office
hours every week. Throughout the course, Jane demonstrated great
perseverance and initiative. She was not only interested in and
motivated to learn the material, but put great work into assimilating it
to her own experience and developing her own ideas about each ethical
topic that we discussed.
Jane is unquestionably an
exceptional candidate for graduate study in Ethics. Jane's work in
Philosophy 111 suggests that she would greatly benefit from the
opportunities for intellectual development provided by a sustained
period of graduate study. She has proven herself to have the
perseverance and initiative, and the intellectual creativity necessary
to complete an advanced graduate degree. I would therefore highly
recommend Jane Doe. If her performance in my class is a good indication
of how she would perform as a graduate student, she would be an
extremely positive asset to your program.
If I can be of any further
assistance, or provide you with any further information, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Sender's Name and Title]
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