<p>I need a letter of recommendation for a summer journalism program. This is my first experience with asking for a letter of recommendation. I'm thinking of asking my English teacher, who knows me so-so. I mean, she knows me fairly well because I go to a small school; however, she's not one of the teachers that I'm super close to either.</p>
<p>I have the following questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How do I go about asking for a letter of recommendation? (Would saying something such as: "I was wondering if you would feel comfortable writing a letter of recommendation for a journalism camp I'm applying for?" be appropriate?)</p></li>
<li><p>Should I provide her information about the camp? Information about myself? (I don't really want to provide information about myself because I go to a small school and that would feel weird, but I'm not sure if she's aware of all that writing I do outside of school.)</p></li>
<li><p>The due date is April 1st. If I ask her at the end of this week, is that giving her enough time?</p></li>
<li><p>How does it work when she is done with the letter? Does she give it to me? (I think so, since I'm the one applying.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m guessing you are still in HS, because most college kids have already had the experience of asking for recommendations, which are needed for colleges.</p>
<p>Here’s how to do it right:
Ask you teacher if she’s able to help you out and write a recommendation. Tell her its due date, because that may be a factor. If she says yes, tell her you’ll write “formal request” and stick it in her mailbox at school. </p>
<p>2) In that formal request, include a few noteworthy anecdotes that she may use in her letter. Include a summary of your experiences, in school and out (clubs, leadership, work, awards). This gives her the bigger picture of who you are. Include with this, a link to the camp, in case she’s interested, a sample of your writing, and an envelope. On the envelope, write the address where it will be sent, the school’s return adress, “RE: letter of recommendation for bbarty” in the bottom right corner, and – very important-- a postage stamp. (She’ll mail it directly to the program).</p>
<p>3) Send out a thank you letter by April 1st. You don’t need to tell her if you got in. You just want to say thanks for taking the time to help you out. Separately, if you do get in, let her know.</p>
<p>I would say definitely tell her something about yourself and give her a resume (just a list of your extracurricular activities and awards, putting the ones you really want the camp to know about at the top) and maybe even a sample of your writing? Don’t feel awkward about it. I knew one of the teachers who wrote my college letter of rec since I was 12, but she still asked for a resume. It’s helpful one: because it’s hard to remember every little thing when you’re writing, and two: they may not know some of your EC’s (like your out-of-school writing) or the extent to which you participate in them.</p>
<p>Limabeans this is a great answer… My question is-- how does one include anecdotes about oneself without seeming unbearably arrogant/bossy? I’ve heard this suggestion before and can’t figure out how to pull it off gracefully.</p>
<p>Thank you so much limabeans, MedSchHopeful, and Got2BeGreen for the help! This is exactly the advice I was looking for! I also am wondering, like Gwen Fairfax, how do you write the resume information out without sounding arrogant. I’m a really modest person, I think, and I feel bad saying lots of accomplishments/activities in a list. I guess, I still feel weird writing out a resume because at my school nobody does summer programs like this, let alone has a resume finished. One other question about the resume based on the previous responses: do I include resume-like stuff in the formal letter to her, or do I write out a separate document?</p>
<p>The nice thing about a resume is that because they are basically a form you don’t have to feel like they are boasty. I think it’s a little harder to pull off the anecdotes. A high school resume would list the clubs you are in and what positions you held or a brief description of your activities. I think it’s easier to attach a resume so that you can include less of that information in your letter. Your cover letter might mention what you enjoyed in the teachers class (a paper you wrote or a book you liked) The idea is to make it as easy as possible for the teacher to write an interesting letter.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice mathmom! So for a resume for this, do I tailor it specifically to activities that I think would have some relevance to the camp (not too many) or list all of the activities (feel like I’m rambling on)?</p>
<p>What are the most important things to include on a resume, in general and in this situation?</p>
<p>You should include whatever you can fit on one page, but of course especially the ones that are relevant. Anything for which you had a leadership or responsible role should also be there. (For example something like helping out in Sunday school or tutoring.)</p>
<p>Generally you will have the following sections (though you don’t have to have them all):
education -Very brief it will just say when you expect to graduate, your GPA and/or rank if it’s good
work experience - any paid work should be listed
volunteer experience - any unpaid work
interests/experiences - here you put clubs
awards
skills - computer programs, languages</p>