Significance of letters of recommendation for business English study abroad

When applying for postgraduate courses, most schools require applicants to submit 2-3 letters of recommendation, which are usually called letters of recommendation or letters of recommendation (more common in Britain). The admission Committee not only pays attention to the subjective self put forward by the applicant, but also wants to know the objective background of the applicant through the written description of the referee. Therefore, the recommendation letter can provide a non-quantitative and formulaic evaluation material.

Content of recommendation letter for studying English in business.

The core content of the recommendation letter is to evaluate the characteristics of the applicant and the future development potential in a specific professional field. Some schools will provide recommendation forms for referees to fill in and answer questions one by one. For example:

How long have you known the applicant and in what capacity?

What are the applicant's talents or strengths and weaknesses?

How do you evaluate a candidate's potential for success in his or her chosen graduate program?

In your opinion, how do applicants benefit from participating in this graduate program?

Please provide any other comments about the applicant's personality, ability, motivation or leadership potential related to the admission decision.

If there are no specific requirements, you can write. From the above representative questions, Bian Xiao can sum up the contents of the recommendation letter for studying English in business, including but not limited to:

1) the relationship between the applicant and the recommended person, as well as the time of learning;

2) Advantages and disadvantages of the applicant;

3) The applicant's key qualities and unique personality (such as intelligence, creativity, self-confidence, personality charm, ambition, motivation, leadership potential, maturity, teamwork spirit, communication skills, etc.). ) and its prominence in the group to which he belongs.

Selection of referees

By subdividing the core inspection points of letters of recommendation, it can be roughly summarized into three categories: first, academic qualifications and learning ability; Second, comprehensive quality and activity performance; The third is work experience and development prospects.

So who is the most suitable person to write a letter of recommendation? Business schools favor people who are familiar with the applicant, have had an intersection or close relationship, really appreciate the applicant and are willing to recommend objectively. For ordinary undergraduate students, effective referees usually come from professional teachers, head teachers (department heads) and leaders of internship units.

Pay attention to the specific choice of the referee

First, avoid relatives or family. General schools clearly stipulate that such people can't write letters of recommendation. The reason is that it is often difficult for them to objectively reflect the facts. Applicants who work in a family business, if they must ask relatives to recommend them, must not indicate your blood relationship when writing letters of recommendation.

Secondly, the reference position is not as high as possible. Some people will be confused whether to find a class teacher or a principal, a department head or a company general manager. It should be said that writing a letter of recommendation by someone who is in a high position but not familiar with the applicant will not achieve any effect. Only those who know the applicant and his growth process and have had * * * experience can deeply analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the applicant and provide in-depth recommendations with specific examples.

Finally, the selection of referees should complement each other and avoid duplication. Schools generally require multiple letters of recommendation, that is to say, we should choose different referees, focus on different places, and everyone has a focused theme, so as to outline the applicant's comprehensive and complete image.

Writing of recommendation letter

The recommendation letter is a very private document, which should be written, sealed and signed by the recommender himself. Foreign admission committees usually take it for granted that applicants can't see the contents of letters of recommendation.

Therefore, I often see such a sentence in the form: I have the right to consult this letter of recommendation and authorize the author of this letter of recommendation to provide my evaluation to * * * University. This means that the applicant has given up the right to read this letter of recommendation (now or in the future).

However, due to the influence of objective conditions (referee's English level, work style, etc. ), in the current application for studying abroad, a large part of the letters of recommendation are actually from the applicant's own hands, and the recommender is usually only responsible for signing and confirming after reading the whole article. So, how can an applicant write a letter of recommendation that looks real?

First of all, we must abide by the logical relationship. Don't mention things that the referee can't know in general. For example, professional teachers are often unfamiliar with your extracurricular activities, and class teachers usually don't know whether you stay up late to write papers and soak in the library. A teacher is not fit to comment on an applicant's performance in other classes. If the situation is special, be sure to explain it clearly.

Secondly, we should use "examples" to convince people. If a letter of recommendation is just a formality, full of praise without concrete examples to support these views, such a letter of recommendation will not only make the admission Committee know more about the applicant, but will make them doubt whether the recommender has reservations.

Third, you can mention your own "shortcomings" appropriately. It stands to reason that the recommendation letter should mainly expound the advantages, but if it is only touting, it will inevitably be suspected of whitewashing. If we can add some "shortcomings" appropriately, it will not only make the recommendation letter more authentic, but also highlight the personal characteristics of the recommended person. For example, "it is difficult to balance study and life" can indirectly reflect the attitude of "forgetting to eat and sleep", and "sometimes finding fault" is actually reflecting "doing things seriously"

Finally, we should fully understand and distinguish referees. Including age, personality, position, main academic research direction, etc. From this, you can set the language style, font layout, and even details such as paper and envelope of different letters of recommendation.

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