Premium
Writing an effective and supportive recommendation letter
Author(s) -
Sarabipour Sarvenaz,
Hainer Sarah J.,
Furlong Emily,
Jadavji Nafisa M.,
Winde Charlotte M.,
Bielczyk Natalia,
Shah Aparna P.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the febs journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1742-4658
pISSN - 1742-464X
DOI - 10.1111/febs.15757
Subject(s) - structuring , constructive , task (project management) , key (lock) , advice (programming) , psychology , personality , computer science , social psychology , engineering , political science , process (computing) , computer security , systems engineering , law , programming language , operating system
Writing recommendation letters on behalf of students and other early‐career researchers is an important mentoring task within academia. An effective recommendation letter describes key candidate qualities such as academic achievements, extracurricular activities, outstanding personality traits, participation in and dedication to a particular discipline, and the mentor’s confidence in the candidate's abilities. In this Words of Advice, we provide guidance to researchers on composing constructive and supportive recommendation letters, including tips for structuring and providing specific and effective examples, while maintaining a balance in language and avoiding potential biases.