On 17 Feb 99, at 16:59, Matthew P. Winslow wrote:
> As a beginning faculty, I have already been asked to write several
> letters of recommendation. I have not had the chance to sit on
> committees that regularly get thousands of these things every year
> (graduate admissions, job search), so I am not very confident about my
> letters (too glowing, not enough???). Does anyone know of any resource on
> how to write an effective letter? How did you learn to write letters? What
> about the ethics of writing letters for students that you don't think are
> that great?
Matthew,
For some help on the ethical aspects of your question, I suggest going
to the following URL:
http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP/
This is the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology website and you
will find "letters of recommendation" listed under teaching resources.
You can download a copy of a short paper that Elizabeth V. Swenson and
Patricia Keith-Spiegel wrote entitled "Writing Letters of Recommendation
for Students: How to Protect Yourself from Liability."
Also, you might want to take a look at the following articles in
"Teaching of Psychology":
Zimbardo, P. (1976). Reducing the agony of writing letters of
recommendation. Teaching of Psychology, 3, 187-188.
Ault, R. L. (1993). To waive or not waive? Students' misconceptions
about the confidentiality choice for letters of recommendation. Teaching
of Psychology, 20, 44-45.
HTH,
Dave
--
==========================
David E. Johnson
Department of Psychology
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
501-524-7164
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
