This webpage provides information for undergraduate and Masters students seeking a recommendation letter from J. White.
The purpose of this information is (1) to help you get the best recommendation letter possible, and (2) to help ensure that your letters are submitted in a timely manner.
The first question to ask is whether I am the best person to ask for a recommendation letter. While in principle I am usually happy to write a letter for students, my ability to write a good letter is limited by the extent to which I know you and your work. If you have only been a student in one of my classes (especially a large class) and we have not had much one-on-one interaction, I am usually limited to providing generic information, such as the marks that you achieved. On the other hand, if you have worked on research or an independent project with me, I can provide a more personalised letter about your abilities. While a generic letter might be helpful for you application, personalised letters make much better recommendation letters in general. To give you an idea, here are some factors that can enhance my ability to write a good letter for you (ordered from strongest to weakest):
If none of these are true, then I am probably not a good person to write a letter for you (as I will just be limited to stating basic facts, like the marks on your transcript).
If I have limited or no experience interacting with you on an individual level, then I will usually only be able to provide basic facts (e.g. the marks you received or comments I wrote on your written work).
Step 1: Determine whether I am the best person to ask for a letter (see above).
Step 2: Email me to ask whether I am willing to write a recommendation letter for you. Note that you should give me a two week notice at minimum or I am much more likely to say 'no'. Letters take a fair amount of time to write and submit, so when I agree to write a letter, I have to work it into my schedule; this is more difficult on short notice. (You should ideally aim for a one month notice for recommendation letters.)
Step 3: Assuming I say 'yes', send me the following information in a single email:
Step 4: When you add my name as a reference on your application, go ahead and fill in my details, such as my name, title, position, address, phone, and email. This information can be found in my email signature and/or on my webpage.
Step 5: If you have not heard from me by one week before the first deadline, then send me a reminder by email. Send me another reminder two days before the first deadline if you have still not heard from me.
Staff members get asked to submit dozens of recommendation letters each year. To ensure that none get missed and that all of them are submitted in a timely manner, I like to have all of the information for each student in one email. I will then plan a time (before the first deadline) to submit all of your letters at the same time.
This requires you to do a bit of planning ahead to decide which programmes you will apply to in advance, and to prepare the application materials earlier. However, this will ensure that your letters all get submitted in a timely manner (and the advanced planning will likely help you in terms of putting together strong applications anyway).
In general, no, I do not give students copies of their recommendation letter. The reason is that recommendation letters carry much more weight if they are not seen by the person being recommended (meaning the recipient will have greater confidence that the letter represents my honest opinion of the candidate). Most applications have an option for the recommender to upload a letter privately or to send a letter (by email or snail mail) directly to the recipient. If so, I will always choose that option. If the only option is for you to provide a hard copy of the letter with your application, then I can provide you with a letter in a sealed envelope, addressed to the recipient, with my name signed across the back flap of the envelope.