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human
Writing letter of recommendation for professor

Hello,

One of my former professors just asked me to write him a letter of support for his promotion/review. I agreed without hesitation because he has supported me greatly through my years as a student at my former college. Now, I've never written a recommendation letter before, and I need some help on formatting. I want to get it right because he's such a great person and truly deserves to continue teaching at this institution.


1. How do I address the letter?  (Professor said I have to email the letter to a committee member)

2. How long should the letter be?

3. What should I cover and how do I start out the letter? Anyone have any example letters?
gpt
You're a student. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. The committee knows you don't know much about this process. When in doubt, ask the prof this.

1. You can use either "To whom it may concern" or "Dear X department," etc..

2. He really should have told you this one. Probably not more than 1-2 pages. Preferably at least one, at most 2.

3. This really is just up to you. It will help most if you point out **concrete** ways in which your professor helped. Highlighting personal anecdotes of his working with students or service to the department will be useful.

Examples (if true, but you get the idea):

- "Prof X frequently held his office hours on Saturdays to help students who were busy during the week, and this really highlighted his commitment to teaching."

- "He used group work in an effective way by checking in with group members regular to ensure that everyone was contributing equally."

- "When portions of the class were struggling, he did not take it as a reflection of the students but engaged in self-reflection as to his teaching style and adjusted in a way to help the rest of the class get back on track."