One of the most common ways for faculty and staff to get involved in fellowships is by writing recommendations. The vast majority of fellowships require one or more recommendations, but few provide concrete requirements or guidelines and you may not have received any training in this important work.
What helps
Examples of what the applicant has done (e.g., if the student wrote a brilliant paper, mention its topic and why it stood out to you).
Merit of the proposed research project, course of study, internship, etc.
Positive impact the fellowship would have on the student's short- or long-term goals and overall educational trajectory.
Place the student in larger context (e.g., a letter could compare the present applicant to past applicants/winners. If possible, the student can be compared to graduate students or professionals).
Quantitative remarks and percentages may be useful (e.g., "among the three best students I have taught").
The strongest comparisons have the widest reach: (e.g., "top 5% of students in my 20 years of teaching" is stronger than "the best in his section").
Note: These types of remarks of most helpful to reviewers when supported by specific evidence/examples.
What hurts (please don't do this)
Recycling a letter without critical updates, including the name of the opportunity, the date, or the focus.
Misspelling - or misnaming altogether - the student you agreed to support.
Using gender pronouns that do not match those used by the student in their application.
Writing more about yourself and/or your class than the student you agreed to support.
Understand the opportunity and your letter's role in the application. An applicant should be able to explain what the fellowship is for, what they specifically hope to do with it, and why they are asking you to help.
If they don't offer this information, ask before agreeing to write for them!
Ask the student: why me? You may also require the following to support your writing:
A brief description of the fellowship, scholarship, or opportunity the student is pursuing.
A list of the major criteria and a link to the relevant website.
Current resume.
A draft of their application, including essays and/or short responses. If the applicant is in the early stages of application development, then an outline or brief summary of their ideas should be offered.
Provide a story about a moment/interaction they are proud of, showed skills, etc.
Maybe a list of three things they would like you to emphasize, such as specific accomplishments, characteristics, aspects of the work that they thing would be transferable and persuasive to the target opportunity.
And the submission deadline and submission instructions, including any formatting, salutation, or letterhead requirements.
Feel free to co-author your letter or draw on your colleagues' opinions. This can be especially helpful when you need a bit more supporting evidence, perspective on specific strengths, or connections between a student's experiences, coursework, and future plans.
Feel comfortable saying no. Politely decline if you do not know the student, do not have time before the deadline, and especially if you do not think the student is deserving of the award they are pursuing.
Depending on the competition, it may be read by colleagues at DU, or across the United States, or around the world. In most cases, it is appropriate to write for an audience of well-educated non-experts.
Additionally, depending on the competition, you might have a chance to revise your letter after submitting.
We can provide feedback on your letter! Just email it to us at fellowships@du.edu.
You can check for gender-bias using this calculator: https://slowe.github.io/genderbias/ based on Schmader T, Whitehead J, Wysocki VH. A Linguistic Comparison of Letters of Recommendation for Male and Female Chemistry and Biochemistry Job Applicants. 2007.
