<p>in my school, the students have to write their own letter of reco and the teachers just sign it. i have no idea of any approaches to writing a letter of recommendation. everything i try writing just seems unsatisfactory. some seem too good to be true, some r just worthless.
i have no clue.
HELP ME OUT.</p>
<p>That's pretty messed up. Your teachers are supposed to write it; probably no one here has any clue as to how a student would write a teacher recommendation. Ask your teachers personally for a rec anyway. </p>
<p>Teachers recs are supposed to be a window into your performance and behavior in school, if that helps.</p>
<p>yeah, thats weird. wouldnt the college notice if all your letters were in the same handwriting?</p>
<p>Well he could type it. But the teachers might recognize the style as well.</p>
<p>oh, right.</p>
<p>Skunk,
If you go to school in the U.S., have your parents complain to the principal and to their supervisor if the principal doesn't respond. Your schools' having students write their own recommendations is doing something unethical. It also is hurting students because colleges won't take those recommendations seriously even if the colleges don't officially know those reccs are student written. There are probably no students and very few parents who could write a teacher recc that colleges would take seriously.</p>
<p>^I actually think it would improve my chances substantially if I wrote my own letter recommendation, despite my bad grammar/mediocre writing...</p>
<p>There are guidelines on some college websites for guidance counselors to refer to when writing recommendations. Perhaps looking at some of those might help. If your school refuses to write these for you, perhaps you should have one of your parents write it. You might even call the admissions offices of the schools you are applying to and explain the situation to them. What your school is telling you to do seems to be bordering on dishonesty. It is certainly lazy and unprofessional.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, I don't study in the US.
Even if my teachers were to write letters of recommendation for me, I don't think it would be any good. Almost all of my teachers have never written letters of recommendation. They are accustomed to signing whatever is presented to them by the students.</p>
<p>Which country are you from, skunk?</p>
<p>oh dude, i had the same problem. i went to middle school in China, and i applied to selective boarding schools in New England such as Philips Andover, Philips Exeter, Rosemary Choate, etc. it totally didn't work out. my teachers tried to make me write it, with them signing it, because they had no experience with things like teacher recommendations at all. it was all test scores for them. i'd try just explaining to them what a recommendation means; in the end they wrote their own recommendation for me, although i got to see what they wrote. -_-;</p>
<p>skunk, I would actually like to go to your high school in whatever country you're from...honestly</p>
<p>No you wouldn't, because you'd be considered an international.</p>
<p>^so? Being an international is worth being able to write one's recommendation...</p>
<p>No, it doesn't. Believe me, bobmallet1! Shunk, in my opinion you have three options:
1) you talk to your teacher, tell him exactly what you want the rec to contain, maybe even be with him while he writes it and suggest him some things, help him express himself and so on.
2) write it yourself, but be careful to change your writing style (it's dangerous, because you cannot always completely change your style).
3) ask a parent or someone else, maybe a person who knows something like creative writing, to write it in the name of your teacher, maybe with some help of you as at 1.</p>
<p>This happens a lot. Writing recommendations is a pain in the rear for busy folks (yes, I know it is part of the job and I suppose many just put a couple of standard letters in their computer and change the names - that would make it easier. ) </p>
<p>You can complain to the principal if you want, but personally, I'd have your parent write it (with a list of activities, acheivements that you have actually obtained in hand to help to write it.) - be honest but put your best foot forward - the teacher won't sign anything that isn't true (if they are ethical).</p>