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Please read the following
guidelines and follow them carefully when requesting any type of letter
from me.
General guidelines (for all letter requests)
Due to the
frequent requests I receive for providing various types of letters, and in order to
ensure that I can help with such requests and in a timely manner,
the guidelines below must be followed for each
letter
request:
-
A request should be initiated
through email at least 3 weeks prior to the deadline.
-
All information should be sent in
one single email inclusive of all applicable attachments.
-
Any forms that require pre-filling
should be filled prior to sending the request and emailed within the
single request email, e.g. fill in any required student information,
addresses, professor's name and contact information etc.
-
Short but clear summary of the
following information must be provided:
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Description of the purpose of
the letter inclusive of all relevant details e.g. specify if
this is for a job application, a scholarship application etc.
Further, scholarship information such as the type/name/acronym
and the duration of program for which one is applying etc must
also be specified.
-
A copy of your proposal if
that is part of an application package (otherwise I cannot check
the box certifying that I have read your proposal).
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Any applicable constraints
regarding the format or length of the requested letter.
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Complete name and address of the
letter's recipient(s).
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Complete name and address of
the person requesting the letter.
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Specification of the exact format needed for sending the
letter (mailed hardcopy, sealed envelope, email etc).
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Deadline for sending the
letter (again please note the minimum notification period I need
as listed above).
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All other information as detailed
below depending on the purpose of the letter.
Please insure that all the above info is given in
bullet format with the specified headings clearly listed in your request email.
Additional guidelines (specific to
the type of letter requested and who is making the request)
In
addition to the information requires as per
the general guidelines above, further details must be included as specified
below depending on the exact purpose of the letter:
-
Certification letters: For official
letters of non-confidential nature, e.g. for visa/work permit purposes,
the request should include a draft document with the text needed
inclusive of dates, RA details (if applicable).
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Reference letters for my graduate students:
Students who are currently studying or have
graduated under my supervision should include the following details:
- Complete CV.
- Draft document (doc format only) with:
- Summary of work experience with me (e.g. year student
joined/graduated from my group), position/degree etc.
- A bulleted list of accomplishments which are deemed important to
highlight for the specific letter requested.
- Keywords/highlights of the specific topics judged as useful for
discussion within the letter.
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Reference letters for students who took one
of my courses: Unless a student worked with me on a practical or a
research project, I will not be able to write a detailed letter of
reference. To clarify, if a student has only attended one of my classes,
I can only provide him/her with a letter commenting on their
performance in that class. I, however, highly recommend that in such
cases, students should try and request letters from professors/people
with whom they have worked more closely e.g. on projects etc which will
ensure the effectiveness of the reference letter provided.
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