<p>I've never read a teacher recommendation letter, so I'm a little unclear on what exactly teacher recommendation letters should be like for college applications. Perhaps it's just because I haven't seen one before, but I feel like it would be difficult for a teacher to write a letter that doesn't verge on hyperbolic (i.e. "so and so in the top 2% of students I've taught" or something along those lines), even for a teacher who genuinely likes me. So how can lack of authenticity be prevented in the letters?
And conversely, how close do I need to be to the teacher who writes my recommendation? I'm on good terms with all my teachers, and I have a pretty solid relationship with each one. But I'm not on that best friend kind of level with any of them, and I think that by trying to be somewhat close with all of my teachers it's been difficult to focus on my relationship with a particular one.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>The issue is not how close or how solid the relationship per say, even though those aspects can help. The issue is can the teacher write specifically about you as a student and a learner. </p>
<p>For example:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Instead of writing, “…so and so in the top 2% of students I’ve taught…”</p></li>
<li><p>The teacher writes, “…so and so’s ability to focus on detail and capture the fundamentals of information are excellent. Her work consistently shows someone who delves deeper than other students into the information and strives to fully understand the material. This is consistent with her overall demonstrated love of learning that is reflected in her meticulous work habits and organizational skills.”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You want to choose the teacher who can write like the #2 example above.</p>