Draft your own letter of recommendation!

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Not really, but I want to help students understand that they're the ones who (figuratively) write their letters of recommendation through their actions and that I'm just the scribe. While I don't really use cut-and-paste to write recommendations, and I never say anything insulting (I just decline to write a letter), I am hoping you will find this exercise useful. [Short URL: https://tinyurl.com/write-rec]

Preparation *

X was always well-prepared for class, having done the required reading thoroughly and coming prepared with questions or observations.

X occasionally asked questions in class that showed careful preparation.

X sometimes seemed unprepared in class, making me question whether she had done the reading.

X frequently held up class by asking questions that were clearly answered in the reading.

It was only near the end of the semester that it came out that X had been using the Chinese version of the textbook to save money, despite not knowing Chinese.

Other:

Answering questions *

X was always willing to try answering questions I asked in class.

X sent me thoughtful responses to questions after class, preferring to express herself in writing after having time for thought.

X would sometimes volunteer to answer questions I asked in class.

X would answer questions when called on but never volunteered.

X was unwilling to answer questions, even when called on.

X called out answers to questions directed at the class, even when asked to give other students a chance.

X insisted on providing all answers in the form of a question.

Asking questions *

Note that you can select more than one answer.

X asked insightful questions showing that he had really thought about the material.

X asked very good questions, helping other students, as well as himself, by asking politely about unclear material I presented.

X caught and politely corrected mistakes in my presentations.

X would sometimes sidetrack class by asking off-topic questions.

X paid attention in class but rarely asked questions.

X was often distracted in class.

X earned more playing online poker during class than I earned teaching it.

Other:

Required

Enthusiasm *

X was enthusiastic about the material and showed initiative in learning more than what was required.

X was enthusiastic about the material and always was attentive.

X seemed interested in the material I presented.

X seemed uninterested in the subject matter.

X made clear that she thought the material I was teaching was unimportant and not worth learning.

X's response to my teaching caused me to consider selling my services to insomniacs.

Other:

Attitude *

X always took responsibility for his performance, which was exemplary.

X always took responsibility for his performance, even when it was not up to his standards.

X tended to blame me or others for deficiencies in his performance.

X blamed his poor performance on biased polls.

Other:

Collegiality *

X was appreciated by her peers for her willingness to help them out, do her share of teamwork, correct mistakes on the website, and reaching out to new students.

X was part of a small group of hard-working students who worked well together.

X preferred to work alone, even when I asked her to work with others.

X's teammates raised concerns that X was not doing her share of the work.

X was sometimes condescending or insulting to other students.

X created meme templates for each of her classmates, and several for me, that went on to be featured at knowyourmeme.com.

Other:

Testing

X created outstanding tests for his code, which I sometimes used to catch problems in other students' code.

X created the required tests for his code, and made sure his programs passed.

X neglected to write tests for his code, even when asked. While his code usually worked well, he did not develop the necessary testing skills.

X neglected to write tests for his code, which was apparent when I evaluated it.

X made clear that he considered testing a waste of time.

X founded a chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Software in protest of stress testing software.

Other:

Clear selection

Documentation

X's code was always clearly documented, which I'm sure her future colleagues will appreciate.

X documented her code with varying degrees of quality.

X's code documentation was deficient.

X made clear to me that she considered documentation a waste of time.

X's documentation was always in iambic pentameter, which would have been fine, except she sometimes changed the assignment to make the rhymes work.

Other:

Clear selection

Writing

X's write-ups were always clear and carefully proofread.

While X's writing was not perfect, he worked at improving it.

X's write-ups were informative but contained frequent typographical and grammatical mistakes, even after I had called attention to them on previous assignments.

X's write-ups did not include required material.

X's write-ups always fit in 140 characters.

Other:

Clear selection

Seeking help

Whenever X had trouble with the material that she was unable to resolve herself, she sought appropriate help.

X was very independent, which unfortunately made her reluctant to ask for help that would have been useful.

X often had to be pointed to required material she had not read when she asked for help.

X's frequent requests for CPR made me uncomfortable.

Other:

Clear selection

Attendance

X always showed up at class on time, except when they had a legitimate conflict or illness, which they notified me of.

X's attendance was good. They were almost always on time and rarely absent without explanation.

X was frequently late to class or absent, without explanation.

X may have shown up to class once or twice, although I'm not sure, since I don't know what they look like.

Other:

Clear selection

Responding to feedback *

I was impressed by how well X appreciated and responded to criticism, always striving to improve his work.

Like most of us, X sometimes seemed unhappy when his work was criticized, but he did a good job maintaining a positive demeanor and improving his work.

X made no objection to suggested improvements to his work, but he also appeared to ignore it, continuing to make the same mistakes.

X seemed so uncomfortable receiving constructive criticism on his work that I became reluctant to give it.

X responded with inappropriate defensiveness to feedback.

X invariably responded to feedback with: "I know you are, but what am I?"

Other:

Grading *

It was clear that X was primarily motivated by a desire to learn, not just to earn good grades. She would sometimes continue to work on assignments even after they were graded just because she was interested in learning more about the topic.

Whenever X earned a grade lower than she hoped, she asked for help understanding what she did wrong to improve her future performance.

X frequently disputed with me how her assignments were graded, always arguing that she had been given too few points, never that she had been given too many.

X complained that my grading of her work was unfair, even when I pointed her to the objective scoring guide and showed her the mistakes she had made.

When she received a B on an assignment, X complained that the student she had copied it from had gotten an A.

Other:

Summary *

To summarize, X was an exemplary student who took advantage of every educational opportunity and helped her peers. She was a pleasure to have in class and in the lab. I can recommend her highly.

In conclusion, X did high-quality work and would likely be successful in the workplace. I enjoyed having her as a student.

In conclusion, X did good work and would likely be successful in a workplace that provided good supervision and mentoring.

In summary, X shows potential, which I am hopeful she will develop.

I am afraid I cannot recommend X at this time. [Note that if I feel this way, I will decline to write a letter of recommendation rather than a poor one.]

Other:

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