聽說最近好多同學都被推薦信搞的焦頭爛額的，小編特地為大家準備了推薦信的相關資料。希望能夠在申請季為大家的文書寫作起到好的指導作用。
什麼是推薦信
不管是申請醫學院、法學院還是其他學科，不管是出國讀碩士、博士還是申請工作，都需要推薦信。推薦信是請教授從他的視角客觀地對你進行評價，證明你個人的技能和特點的文書，是美國大學申請的基本檔案之一。一般說來美國的研究生院要求提供 3 封推薦信，信件作者應該熟悉學生，並且有一定知名度。
推薦信的意義
推薦信其實是學校深入全面瞭解你的一個方式，也就是說你在寫你的 application 的時候，任何地方都有字數限制，可是隻有推薦信這是沒有字數限制的，而且推薦信是唯一一個可以別人給你意見的地方，所以各個學校都十分想要知道其他人對你是怎麼看的，也是幫你補充申請材料的一個好地方。
另外一個意義呢，其實就是所謂的叫 verification，你在你的申請 personal statement 和 activity 裡面都寫了很多自己的優點。但是並沒有人能證明你說的是否都是真實的，所以推薦信的作用之一就是 verify 你的活動。
應該找誰要推薦信
可以找熟悉自己、和申請專業相關的老師(比如修過該老師的課、一起做過 research 的)很多人會下意識去找自己成績比較好的那門課的負責老師。當然這個很重要，但是最重要的其實是對你在課堂之外的表現也很瞭解的老師;也可以找實習地點直系負責人，儘量找比較熟悉自己的 supervisor。有很多熟悉的上司情況下，職稱越高越好。還有什麼人可供選擇呢?就是你參加過的校外活動的負責人。他們作為見證者，不僅能證實你確實參加過某些活動，還能使招生官從一個課外的角度來了解你。
如何要到好的推薦信
好的推薦信，有的時候並不一定需要做過一些什麼驚天動地的事情，反而是老師平時觀察到的令人印象深刻的小事更能吸引人的眼球。所以好的推薦信，其實最主要的一點還是平時點點滴滴的積累。
同時同學們應當找一些年級稍微大一點的老師要推薦信，他們對寫推薦信也比較有經驗，他們更清楚應該在平時觀察一些你的什麼品質，寫推薦信的時候把你的'人品做一個很詳細的介紹，讓大學瞭解更多你在課堂之外的東西。
我們可以提前準備一個 information packet，把自己經歷過的的活動都寫下來，根據重要性寫一個排名，讓老師知道哪一個需要重點看，哪一個可以一掃而過。做好這個information packet，能讓推薦人快速瞭解你，同時幫他寫出內容更詳實的推薦信。
好的 information packet 可以在前面列一個提綱，用概括性的標示分類，而後再詳細寫下來你都幹了什麼事情，這樣以方便你的推薦人隨時翻回去重新看。然後下面可以把這些活動按時間順序排名，最重要的可以 highlight 。每一個活動都要有一個簡短介紹。至於所獲獎項，就大概寫一下是什麼級別的獎，有多少人蔘加。整理好之後，在你邀請推薦人幫你寫推薦信的時候可以直接把這個 information packet 給他們，他們在寫推薦信的時候就可以參考這個材料。
還又一個就是上面講的 verified activity，證實你做過你說的這些活動，如果有 information packet，你的老師也在推薦信中強調了你做過的這些活動的話，等於說上了雙層保險。
所以大一大二的同學建議從現在開始就給自己做一個 activity list，做這個對申請是有非常正面的影響的，因為不管你將來申請什麼一般都是要寫 activity 的。有了這樣一份記錄，到時候做 personal statement 的時候，也可以做一個你自己的 reference，不至於無處下筆。
想要要到好的推薦信還有比較重要的一點是時間。你一定要給你的推薦人預留足夠的時間構思這個推薦信，不能跟他說我明天這封推薦信就要交了，今天才去問老師要，那你的推薦信很難會是好的推薦信。要注意教授也有其他的事情要做，你不能指望他用一天寫出來一個好的推薦信，一般推薦信都是要慢慢寫，慢慢琢磨，慢慢改的。所以一定要給你老師足夠的時間去寫。其實所謂的足夠的時間，基本上是越早越好，儘量早地跟老師表明你的意圖，讓老師有所準備。
注意：老師如果讓同學自己寫，同學需儘量說服老師用官方郵箱自己上傳。同學在選校名單確定後，開啟網申，輸入老師郵箱，學校的系統會給老師的郵箱傳送連結。同學將選校名單、推薦信和最晚上傳截止日期列表傳送老師。確認老師在 deadline 之前完成上傳，無法當面見面的老師，必須用郵件確認以上步驟。
推薦信核心內容範例
Introduction(開篇):
例子：Thank you for this opportunity to express my admiration for the intellectual gifts, public spiritedness, and professional potential of ak Tuli.
推薦人的背景：
例子：After earning my B.A. in English at University of New Hampshire, I earned my Ph.D. in English at Leeds University in 1990. I served as Assistant and Associate Professor of English at Bradley University from 1991 to 2005. I am currently Associate Professor of English at Indiana University in Bloomington and a prelaw advisor since 2007. I also teach the undergraduate elective, “The Law in Literature.” I have successfully recommended five of my students to your law school in the past four years.
推薦人和申請者的關係：
例子：My first encounter with Abhinav was while teaching Mountain Valley High’s two-year Spanish program. Born in India,Abhinav moved to the United States when he was young and immediately became fascinated by Mexican culture and the Spanish language. The only Indian student in the class, he not only stood out as an engaging, pleasant, and serious student, but his Spanish was already very advanced (he earned an “A” in all my classes). Outside of the classroom, I encourage my students to improve their Spanish skills by becoming community volunteers. Abhinav jumped at the opportunity. For the past two years now, he has volunteered part time for Eureka Valley Hispanic Services (EVHS), a nonprofit agency where I served as a Client Advocate until October use our interactions in class and at EVHS enable us to see each other as manyas five times a week, Abhinav and I have gotten to know each other very well.
申請者的 core strength 可以從以下幾個方面入手：
Leadership
Interpersonal and Teamwork Skills
Intellectual Ability
Writing and Communication Skills
Multicultural and InternationalSkills
Character ,Integrity, and Ethics
Volunteering and Social Impact
Initiative and Creativity
申請者的 Goals and Potential
例子：Stan tells me his short-term post-M.B.A. goal is to work as an investment research analyst covering emerging markets either for an investment bank with a presence in Southeast Asia, such as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, or at a mutual fund specializing in the region, such as Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund. Combined with the special insights he has gained through his working knowledge of China and Vietnam, either route will give hima rich and nuanced foundation in the market and its companies. In the long term, Stan plans to work as the fund manager of a Southeast Asia emerging marketsfund. Ten to 15 years from now, I believe he will be in an excellent position to start his own fund focused on Southeast Asia or perhaps entirely on Vietnam.
總結結束語
例子：I have advised four students who ultimately graduated from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and Bruce’s ability and potential compare favorably with them. He has shown the potential to be a truly outstanding educator and will be a credit to your program. I wish him every success in his teaching career.
注意：如果同學自己寫推薦信，請務必注意檔名、語言，風格，格式風格不一。這部分棕櫚班主任和導師會幫同學們把關。