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ADVISING
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION/REFERENCE
CHECK IN EVERY SEMESTER & EVERY YEAR
I am deeply interested in your successes and challenges. So, please visit me in office hours every semester, or at least each year at a minimum. I want to know how you are doing in your classes--the good, the bad, and the ugly--so that I can help you manage or celebrate your achievements with you. I find that students who check in regularly with their advisor have a more fulfilling and meaningful experience.
Also, I want to help you avoid any potential scheduling pitfalls by talking with you about taking courses in sequence, overloading in a semester, and meeting graduation requirements.
Remember, if you cannot make office hours because you are taking classes during that time, your work schedule conflicts, or you have childcare issues, I am happy to schedule an appointment with you.
If are you currently being advised by another faculty member and would like me to become your advisor, please bring in a change of advisor form for me to sign. Additionally, if for some reason, you want to switch to another advisor, I'm happy to direct you to someone who might be better suited to your specific needs.
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LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION/
REFERENCES
I'm willing to write letters of recommendation and to act as a reference to help my students achieve their various goals. It is a great delight for me when you win awards, scholarships, and prizes; when you go onto graduate programs, both masters and doctoral levels; or you move into new internships and jobs. For me, one of the best things about my role as a professor is being able to support my students as they move onto new challenges and then succeed! I find that writing letters is one small way that I can help.
CAVEAT: I am usually juggling numerous teaching, advising, research, and service activities every semester. While I will make every effort to meet deadlines, I do not guarantee that I will. If I anticipate being late with the letter, I will contact the institution and inform them that a letter will be arriving late. If this condition is troubling to you, then I suggest that you turn elsewhere for your letters. Please remember that for each letter it takes me several hours to read your statement and transcripts, review your work in my classes, and draft and revise the letter.
In order to best help you, I need help from you so that I can write a letter tailored to your specific needs. I never write a boilerplate letter where I fill in the blank with your name. I write each letter to draw attention to your particular strengths and talents and if I need to I will try to mitigate any small shortcomings. In order to do all this, I need you to carefully consider your request.
Before you read on, you might ask yourself if I am really the best person to ask for a letter. How will you know? Well, ask yourself the following questions: Have I done my best work in her classes? Have I studied with her long enough (at least one full semester)? Have I visited her office hours regularly enough so that she knows me both as a student and a person?
If any of the answer to the above questions are no, then you might want to wait for the semester to complete (grades turned in) and ask at the beginning of the following semester. Or, you might want to visit more regularly in office hours so I can get a better sense of your thoughts, your intellectual curiosity, and your interests. Or, you might also want to take another class with me so, if you didn't do your best work the first time around, you can do better the next time.
If the answers to the above questions are yes, then here are 10 easy steps I need you to accomplish to help me help you attain your goals! Please be sure to be neat and orderly in your presentation of materials to me since a haphazard package will result in a less-than-enthusiastic letter. In other words, if I have to struggle to find all the information that I need, I will seriously reconsider acting as your advocate.
Here they are in brief, the explanations follow below.
- Make an appointment to talk with me.
- Provide all the information that I need.
- Provide clear and complete written information.
- Provide addressed and stamped envelopes.
- Pencil in the due date on the envelope.
- Remember to include any and all forms.
- Provide a transcript (unofficial is acceptable).
- Include a curriculum vitae or resume.
- Include your statement of purpose.
- Include a narrative statement to accompany your facts.
- Make an appointment to talk with me about the letter you'd like me to write. It will help me better understand what you are trying to achieve. As a rule, I will write letters for students once they have finished at least one course with me. I will, in certain cases, agree to write the letter before you finish your first course with me, but I will most likely wait until the beginning of the following semester to actually write it and send it off. TOP OF SECTION
- To help me meet the deadline(s), provide all the information that I need in a large envelope so that the various pieces of information don't get lost! You've seen my desk--random pieces of paper will disappear and probably won't be found until the next ice age. If you require several letters of recommendation, please include a cover sheet that clearly indicates what is due to whom and where and by when. If I don't have everything the first time I sit down to draft your letter, then I will probably be less enthusiastic each subsequent time I turn to write it. Please do not expect me to write letters during finals and grading weeks or during the breaks; I will get to them as soon as we return to classes. TOP OF SECTION
- Provide clear and complete written information about what the letter is for. Also, don't assume that I am familiar with the program, grant, scholarship, or position that you are applying for, even if it's an internal, departmental program, position, or scholarship. If it's for graduate school, give me a printout of the programs pages and admission requirements and let me know why this program(s) is a good fit for you. If it's for an award or scholarship, make sure you enclose a copy of the description of the eligibility and selection requirements and let me know how you meet the criteria and goals for the program. In other words, make the case that you deserve it and I can shape my letter accordingly. If you submit something quickly drafted and unfocused, then my letter will probably reflect that. TOP OF SECTION
- Provide addressed and stamped envelopes and email me the names and addresses of the people to whom I should address the letter. I write numerous letters a year and I would go broke if I had to pay for all the postage since the department does not reimburse me for these costs. Don't worry about the return address, I have a stamp for it. Also, it is crucial that you email me the correct name and address so that I may address the letter appropriately. I will not, under any circumstances, address a letter to "whom it may concern." If you cannot locate the individual, then at least provide me with their title or committee name. TOP OF SECTION
- Pencil in the due date on the envelope so that I know when it is. Also send reminder emails two weeks before it's due, one week before, two days before, and the day before. Don't worry about bothering me; it's much better to remind me at regular intervals than for me to forget or have it drop off my calendar of things to do. I'll let you know once I've sent it. TOP OF SECTION
- Remember to include any forms that I will need to send along. Often, I begin drafting a letter and then some urgent matter comes up and I don't get to polishing the letter until the last moment. So, if you don't include all the information I need, you run the risk of the letter being sent late.All my information can be found on other pages of my website. Be sure to fill out all the information on the form, except for my signature and date. If the information is left blank, I will not fill it in. TOP OF SECTION
- Provide a transcript (unofficial is acceptable) of all your coursework. This information will help me see if there are patterns in your education that I need to address. For example, if you are an outstanding student with one or two low grades, give me a short explanation for the anomaly and I can address it in my letter. Or, if you started out with less-than-stellar grades in your early years, but then you steadily improved, then I can include a statement about your improvement. TOP OF SECTION
- Include a curriculum vitae or resume so that I have a quick reference sheet. If you haven't written one yet, please check various online university career centers or graduate student offices for samples and advice. There are also many books available that provide samples. In short, a CV is a detailed outline of your academic life and the resume is a quick outline of your professional life. To see what I have used, click on the following links for pdf samples of an academic CV and a resume for research/editing job. TOP OF SECTION
- Include your statement of purpose. This is crucial because I want to tailor my letter to match your statement. Basically, I need to know what you are saying so that we "corroborate" our stories! TOP OF SECTION
- Include a narrative statement to accompany your facts. Facts sometimes don't speak for themselves, so I need some context and explanation. If there are any important facts I need to know (e.g. you are the first in your family to attend college, you are a returning student, you work full-time and go to school full-time, you are the sole caregiver to parents, siblings, or children, etc.), please tell me in your narrative. Overcoming significant obstacles to higher education is something that should not go unaddressed. Remember, it is not only your work that counts; the conditions of that work are also important. If this is a letter for a job, I need to know your work history, preparation, and goals so that I can speak to it. TOP OF SECTION
I realize that this is a lot to ask for, but if you really want something, you've got to work for it... and in the case of letters of recommendations, you're asking me to work for you, too--I'm willing to do it, but I'll need your help!
Some of my students' achievements:
- English 1 Instructor, English Department, California State University, Sacramento
- Faculty Endowment Scholarship, California State University, Sacramento
- Elizabeth Keith Olmstead Memorial Scholarship, English Department, California State University, Sacramento
- MFA program admission, University of South Carolina
- M.A. program admission, San Diego State University
- Ph.D. program admission, University of Southern California
- Study Abroad: England, Spain, France
- Internship, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
- Peer Mentor, California State University, Sacramento
- Resident Advisor, University of California, San Diego
- Writing Center Coordinator at California State University, Sacramento
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