上次我们谈到了如何写PS，并为大家附上了一份多伦多大学官方提供的PS模板。这次我们根据UC伯克利GSI的指导，来聊一聊如何（替导师）撰写一份给自己用的推荐信....并附上一份伯克利的推荐信模板。
今天的教程分为以下这几个部分，让我们需要以你的导师的角度，来写这封推荐信：
1.推荐信内容要求
2.在写推荐信时什么是应该写的，什么是不该写的
3.推荐信范例
推荐信内容要求
一封好的推荐信最少需要三个段落，内容最好不超过2页（如果你申请的学校有明确规定推荐信内容不超过一页的话那就只提供一页）。
主要内容需要涉及：
- 交待自己的背景，交待自己如何认识该学生，认识学生多长时间，
- 如果您是他的任课老师，那么您教他什么课程（包括课程名称和课程编号）说明学生在课程中所获得的；并提及与过去认识的其他学生相比，这个学生的特点和优点。同时，如果可能的话，结合学生的申请目标（院校、专业等），指出该学生能够particular strengths fit well with the chosen discipline.
- 根据具体示例（如课程成绩）来描述学生的优秀之处， It is extremely important to give specific examples to back up your more general claims. It is also helpful to check the grade records, if they are available, for many recommendation forms ask you to state the student’s position in the class (for example, in the top 5%, 10%, etc.).
在推荐信中，这个学生独有的特点非常重要，一定要记住写出学生的特异性。行文中，应该讨论以下部分或全部内容：
- Intellectual ability (overall intelligence, analytical skills, creativity, academic record, retention of information)
- Knowledge of area of specialty (depth and breadth of knowledge, use and knowledge of methodology, experience)
- Communication skills (writing skills, oral articulateness)
- Personal qualities (industry, self-discipline, motivation, maturity, initiative, flexibility, leadership qualities, team working skills, perseverance, energy, competitiveness, etc.)
- Suitability for graduate study or profession.
- Conclude by recommending the student based on his or her performance in your class and on personal strengths and weaknesses.
在写推荐信时什么是应该写的，什么是不该写的
应该做到：
1.要具体specific。提及学生的工作，完成的项目，活动等。
2.要客观objective。尽可能陈述事件。如果您想证明学生的人际交往能力，请以具体事例说明您是如何观察学生与他人的互动的。
2.做到诚实和积极honest and positive。负面评价会影响学生奖学金或被录取的机会，甚至还会影响到您自身，因此不能写。
3.保持整洁，输入字母，然后检查拼写和语法。拼写错误、语法错误或措辞不当的信件，份量不如专业陈述。
4.请用签字笔在推荐信上签名（如果可以的话）。
5.请提供联系信息，例如您的姓名，职务，机构，邮寄地址，电子邮件地址和电话号码。
6.要注意潜在的歧义和带有负面含义的词语。另外，请注意，您忽略提及的内容可能与您提及的内容一样重要。
应该避免：
1.请勿使用平淡的字眼，例如nice, fairly, satisfactory, good。
2.请勿提及race or nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, appearance, disability, marital status等特征，这些特征可能会被视为歧视。 比方说，不要出现 “John did very well in my class despite his obvious disabilities….”
推荐信范例
别忘记了用University letterhead
Dear [recipient’s name]: or To Whom it May Concern:
It is my pleasure to recommend Jane Doe for admission to [name of program] at [name of university]. I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley. I came to know Jane when I was her Graduate Student Instructor for Philosophy 111: Ethical Relativism, taught by Professor John Smith. The course comprised [short description of course]. Jane distinguished herself by submitting an exceptionally well researched and interesting project on ethical practices in ancient Greece. I would rank her in the top 2% of students that I have taught in the past five years in respect of her writing ability and research skills.
Overall, Jane is highly intelligent and has good analytical skills. Her project on ethical practices in ancient Greece demonstrated her ability to come a detailed understanding of the ethical practices of another, very different, culture, and to analyze the consequences of those practices for contemporary ethical theories. She gave a particularly interesting discussion of the difficult practice of infanticide, and showed both sensitivity and detachment when discussing its ethical consequences. Her overall intelligence is also reflected in her grades for the course, which were by far the best in the class.
Jane has excellent communication skills. Her written work is both clear and concise, as well as interesting to read. She demonstrated her oral articulateness in the discussion sections that were an integral part of the course. Each discussion section focused on a particular ethical dilemma. Students were required analyze morally problematic situations, and to develop and argue for their own ethical views with regard to the issue in question. Jane was highly proficient in applying the course material in analyzing the problem situations. She always explained her views very concisely and gave supporting arguments that were both clear and persuasive. Jane also demonstrated good teamwork skills in group assignments.
At a personal level, Jane is a well disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality. She went well beyond the course requirements in the quantity and quality of her project, putting in a lot of extra research and attending office hours every week. Throughout the course, Jane demonstrated great perseverance and initiative. Not only was she interested in and motivated to learn the material, but she also put great work into assimilating it to her own experience and developing her own ideas about each ethical topic that we discussed.
Jane is unquestionably an exceptional candidate for graduate study in Ethics. Jane’s work in Philosophy 111 suggests that she would greatly benefit from the opportunities for intellectual development provided by a sustained period of graduate study. She has proven herself to have the perseverance, initiative, and intellectual creativity necessary to complete an advanced graduate degree. I would therefore highly recommend Jane Doe. If her performance in my class is a good indication of how she would perform as a graduate student, she would be an extremely positive asset to your program.
If I can be of any further assistance, or provide you with any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
[sender’s signature]
[sender’s name and title]
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最后请大家注意，推荐信对你申请起到的帮助往往是200%（牛推，熟人推，人脉推等）或者介于5%-0%之间（对你没看错，大部分时候都是不高于5%！作用基本不大！），市面上一些无良中介竟然还推出了n万元买推荐信的行为！简直。。。！请大家想一想，一个和你毫无关系的大牛，你能花几万块钱让他亲自给你写推荐信吗！？毕竟人家一封推荐信，很有可能就是一份百万全奖offer啊！
所以要想有一份特别作用大的推荐信，那么大家可以最好是去和大牛推荐人混脸熟！！！下次我们找机会谈谈如何去混脸熟！
