小小飛鷹
兒時的作家夢
寫推薦信得注意以下幾點：
一，寫推薦信的人不一定是要著名教授，因為對於西方國家的教授來說，中國的著名教授和普通教授沒有什麽兩樣，他都不了解。但推薦人一定得是個認識了你一段時間（最好是半年以上，教過你的課的人），對你很了解的人，這樣的人寫出來的推薦信才不會空洞無物。此外，推薦人千萬不能是你的家人，親戚或朋友，可以說美國人對這些人的推薦是完全不相信的。
二，推薦人本人的自我介紹要簡短，把最重要的一兩點寫上就行了，不要本末倒置，因為這推薦信不是教授的自我介紹信。由於國內文化的不同，教授都有一大堆頭銜，寫上最大的一兩個就足夠了。還清楚的記得剛來美國以“特殊人才”申請綠卡時，我請老友Y君的導師D教授幫忙寫一封推薦信，因為他有一年和Y君去中國開國際會議的時候，花了兩天的時間看過我搞的好幾個工程，對我印象特別深刻。由於他很忙，就要我自己起了一個草稿，於是我就從他的個人網頁上，把他的五六個頭銜都抄了下來。結果，當我收到D教授簽名後的推薦信時，發現他把其中的五個都刪掉了，隻留下了“XXX教授”一個（冠名教授，在美國，冠名教授比其他教授都要厲害）。因為和這個最有影響的頭銜相比，其他的就微不足道了。
三，推薦信一定要寫得真實，說你厲害可以，但一定要有事實來佐證。例一，推薦人說“XXX是我教過的學生中最好的”，這話就有點空，如果改成“XXX是我1998年教過的那個班裏50個學生中成績第三名”就有說服力多了。例二，推薦人說“XXX的數學特好”，這就沒有一點意義，如果改成“XXX的數學特好，例如，他在2010年的SAT考試中，數學拿到滿分800分，在2009年湖南省高中數學競賽中拿到第五名”，效果就會有天壤之別了。
四，一封推薦信裏不一定要麵麵俱到，建議一個推薦人寫兩三個特突出的方麵就行了，因為他不可能方方麵麵都很了解你。此外，一封推薦信的長度最好控製在一頁紙，千萬不要超過兩頁。
五，推薦信一定要推薦人自己簽字，千萬不要背著教授你自己替他簽了，甚至於連知都不讓他知道。有關這一點，教訓是特別深刻的。那還是我在中科大的時候，一個學生用錢偉長的名義幫自己寫了一封推薦信，錢先生連看都沒有看到。這個學生被國外一著名教授招為學生。一天，這個著名教授被錢偉長邀請來中科大講學，講學中途這個外國教授表達了感謝錢先生給他推薦了如此好的一個先生。錢老一聽，立馬就說他沒有推薦過這個學生，結果那教授回去後就向學校報告了這件事，這個學生也就立即被學校開除了，理由是他提交的申請材料造假。對於美國加拿大的大學來說，通常在學校給你發錄取通知的時候，也給推薦人發去一封感謝信，並且要求推薦人簽字寄回學校。如果學校收到推薦人的信說不是他寫的，即使你已經入學了，學校也會開除你，到頭來是偷雞不成反蝕一把米，切記切記。
說了這麽多，可能還是沒有說清楚，下麵我就附上兩封推薦信樣本，其格式與寫法可供大家參考。順便說一下注意事項：
1. 要采用正規信的格式
2. 字體及大小要一致.
3. 拚寫和語法一定要仔細檢查，不要出現有任何錯誤
4. 要用主動語態，避免用被動語態
推薦信例一
（來源於：http://jobsearch.about.com/od/referenceletters/a/samplegrad2.htm）
To Whom it May Concern:
It is my honor to recommend John Doe for matriculation into the Graduate program at Rochester Institute. I have had the pleasure to know and work with John for the last six years. He first worked with me as an intern in the software development organization at XYZ in Syracuse, NY. Following his graduation from Rochester Institute, I was fortunate enough to keep track of his career so that when the opportunity arose, I was able to recruit him to his current position at ABCD. The characteristics of John that attracted my attention then, and led me to hire him out of Company B last year, make it easy for me to give him an unqualified endorsement for graduate study.
John brings to all of his activities energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. This is to be expected in any successful member of an entrepreneurial organization, and in this regard John fits in well. Be it in the parsing of intricate algorithms in a billing system, the crafting of an object hierarchy, or the establishment of best practices with an emerging technology, John consistently delivers high-quality software for our organization. This speaks to his overall intellect and ability to learn, attributes that will serve him well in graduate study.
While John is a relatively junior member of our organization as measured by tenure, he quickly established himself as a go-to person in the product domains in which he has worked. He has been ever-willing to work with members of our organization to share his knowledge and expertise, most notably as a presenter for presentations on product functions. He has a deep-rooted spirit of helpfulness that coupled with his quick grasp of subject matter speaks well to his potential as a teaching assistant or instructor.
What I find most engaging in John's character are his wide-ranging interests outside of software. Two of his abiding interests are game theory and economics. He can be quickly engaged in an in depth discussion, for instance, of the rationale behind EZ-Pass, the lack-of rationality of the financial markets, or the optimal approach for making a few quid on the super-bowl. John's broad range of interests speaks well to his potential as researcher, both in bringing a wide range of theory to the research at hand, as well as carrying forward new hypotheses of interest to researchers.
John Doe is a valued member of our organization whom we have learned we can rely on, regardless of the difficulty of the task to hand or the novelty of the challenge. His combination of intelligence, commitment, perseverance, creativity, and compassionate character will certainly make him a valuable member of any academic program. I encourage you to look favorably upon his application.
Sincerely,
George Smith
Title
Company
Address
Phone
Email
推薦信例二
（來源於：http://gradschool.about.com/od/askingforletters/qt/Letter1.htm)
[Date]
[Full Name]
[Title]
[School Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
Dear [Mr./Ms. Last Name]:
I am writing to you in support of [Mr./Ms. Full Name] and [his/her] desire to attend [University Name] for the [Program Title] program. Though many students ask me to make this request on their behalf, I only recommend students whom I feel are well-suited for the program of their choice. [Mr./Ms. Last Name] is one of those students and therefore, I highly recommend that [he/she] be given the opportunity to attend your university.
As [Professor’s Title] of [Professor’s Department] at [University Name], I work with many students who have substantial knowledge of [Subject]. Each year I notice that only a few outstanding students offer a unique perspective and really embrace their learning of the subject matter. [Mr./Ms. Last Name] has consistently shown such a strong desire to learn that I simply could not turn down [his/her] request for recommendation.
I first met [Mr./Ms. Last Name] in my [Course Title] course during the [Season and Year] semester. Compared to the class average of [Class Average], [Mr./Ms. Last Name] earned a [Grade] in the class. [Mr./Ms. Last Name] was evaluated on [explain basis for grades, e.g., exams, papers, etc.], in which [he/she] performed exceptionally well.
Though [Mr./Ms. Last Name] has consistently exceeded in all areas of [his/her] coursework, the best example of [his/her] intelligence shone through a [paper/presentation/project/etc.] on [work’s title]. The work clearly showed [his/her] ability to deliver a clear, concise and well-thought presentation with a new perspective by demonstrating [embellish here].
[Mr./Ms. Last Name] continues to impress me with [his/her] knowledge, skill and dedication to [his/her] work. I’m sure you will find [him/her] to be a student whose talents will only shine further through your graduate program. It is my hope that you will accept [his/her] admission to your university. Feel free to contact me if you require further information.
Sincerely,
[Professor’s Name]
[Professor’s Title]
[University]
[Address]
[Phone]
[Email]
