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Author Topic: Writing your own letters  (Read 3217 times)
mon_afternoon
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« on: February 11, 2012, 05:21:21 PM »

I am applying for a research fellowship, and both of the professors I asked to write letters want me to do the actual writing for them.  I expect one will give whatever I write moderate tweaking and the other will only check that I don't make any outrageous claims under their name.

I'm not sure how to go about writing two letters about myself.  Should I make different points in each letter?  Do I need to try to use a different writing voice for each?  What kind of claims can I make about how wonderful I am (I know the profs will cut anything they think is too strong, but I don't want to make them think I have an overly high opinion of myself)?

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systeme_d_
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ஜ۩۞۩ஜ


« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2012, 05:25:42 PM »

This post illustrates exactly why professors should never ask students to write their own letters.

I am sorry this has happened to you, OP, and my only advice is to find a way to get your lazy-ass, unprofessional professors to write those letters themselves.
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ptarmigan
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« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2012, 05:38:26 PM »

I'm just a grad student, so take this with a huge lump of salt, but a lot of the advice I've seen here for professors writing these letters is to include specific examples of things the student has done, so like instead of saying, "Suzy is a brilliant collaborator with peers," say something like, "Suzy led an interdisciplinary undergraduate project in XYZ, which led to [result]."

If you have specific accomplishments that the professors would know about (hopefully not the exact same ones for both professors), then maybe that's a place to start. Maybe one was your thesis advisor and can be expected to write about your thesis while another one saw you do some other thing.

That could help differentiate the letters and also allows you to write about factual matters rather than about how you're the best thing since sliced bread or whatever.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2012, 05:38:56 PM by ptarmigan » Logged
oldfullprof
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« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2012, 05:51:08 PM »

This feels really nasty.  I've had to do it twice.  Condolences.
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mon_afternoon
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« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2012, 05:56:45 PM »

In defense of one of the professors, he is unfamiliar with the fellowship (it is more like a temporary job than a funding source) and doesn't know what to highlight.  The same is probably true for the other professor, but she always has students write their own letters for the more mundane things, i.e. anything except jobs and prestigious fellowships.
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wzwzwz
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« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2012, 09:26:10 PM »

Writing your own letters and getting the prof to sign off on them is normal here in Japan, at least in my field (social sciences). And yes, it is really hard to do. I second ptarmigan's advice: be as specific as possible about what you've accomplished under that prof.

Also, you might want to include a description of the fellowship qualifications with your letter draft, with relevant sections highlighted, so your prof knows what kind of applicants they're looking for and, therefore, why you've written what you have.

If you're totally new at reference letter writing, can you ask a previous prof who seems on top of things to send you a template? A solid letter he or she has written for a former student, with names/identifying info deleted? That might give you something to go on.
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dr_prephd
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« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2012, 09:38:03 PM »

be as specific as possible about what you've accomplished under that prof.

This is what I did when told to write my own.

Having experience as a letter writer helped.
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infopri
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« Reply #7 on: February 13, 2012, 05:18:44 AM »

I'm just a grad student, so take this with a huge lump of salt, but a lot of the advice I've seen here for professors writing these letters is to include specific examples of things the student has done, so like instead of saying, "Suzy is a brilliant collaborator with peers," say something like, "Suzy led an interdisciplinary undergraduate project in XYZ, which led to [result]."

If you have specific accomplishments that the professors would know about (hopefully not the exact same ones for both professors), then maybe that's a place to start. Maybe one was your thesis advisor and can be expected to write about your thesis while another one saw you do some other thing.

That could help differentiate the letters and also allows you to write about factual matters rather than about how you're the best thing since sliced bread or whatever.

All this.

I've had several folks who told me to write my own letter.  One way to look at it is that they're lazy--but an entirely different and more generous way to look at it is that they expect you to be your own best advocate.  You know what the opportunity (job/postdoc/grant/etc.) is, and how you qualify for it.  You are in the best position to articulate how you "fit."  You are intimately familiar with your accomplishments and how they have prepared you for this opportunity.  Etc.

So, go ahead and write the best letter that you can for yourself.  As ptarmigan says, be specific.  A careful selection of which facts about yourself to emphasize (specific accomplishments and goals, successful experiences, etc.) will speak many more volumes about your qualifications and fit than simply stringing together superlatives that make you uncomfortable to write.  The two letters should indeed be different, so think about how each professor knows you (context, etc.) and what aspects of your qualifications/fit/etc. each is best positioned to address.  Then have at it.

Good luck!
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infiniteloop
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« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2012, 03:18:18 PM »

That's pretty much the standard of how things are done around here.  Atleast I'm sure you will put forth some effort into writing your own letter.  The gf's advisor wrote her LOR to a very prestigious fellowship.  The letter contained atleast two blatant lies.  I won't even venture into the quality of the actual written English, my 5 year old nephew can write better than that.   

Sometimes I wonder about higher education, when I started grad school I was told my credentials weren't good enough to get an RA.  Six years later and by today's standard they are very good.  What happened, did we all suddenly decide being mediocre was ok. 
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tijuanafina
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« Reply #9 on: February 29, 2012, 09:47:20 PM »

Are there examples of effective letters of rec online somewhere?  I'd be interested to see them, and they might help the OP too.
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dr_prephd
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« Reply #10 on: March 03, 2012, 08:22:41 AM »

Are there examples of effective letters of rec online somewhere?  I'd be interested to see them, and they might help the OP too.

http://bit.ly/yoCEBI

Sorry. Couldn't resist.
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me.

Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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