STUDENT RESOURCES

Kelly Roberts

Recommendation Letter Info

phone 123.456.7890

1. Presently have a 3.25 GPA on 4.0 scale

2. Washington, D.C. Tour for Homeschool Members--assisted director in choosing sites, maintained member contact info and communications spreadsheet (Director, Mrs. Jane Green)

3. Science Fair--participant, Emulsifiers Exhibit, participant, 5th year

4. Math Webzine--assisted Math Club with forming online resource for my homeschool group. I compose weekly practice tests and answers for Grades 6-9 and answer student FAQs daily

5. Volunteer--I walk dogs for our town animal shelter two hours each week, 2nd year, (Supervisor, Mr. Andrew Brown)

6. Junior Church choir, 2nd year

7. Soccer, 3rd year

8. 2014 State Fair, Nature Photography entry, won red ribbon

1. Recommendation Letters

The following downloadable letters provide basic guides as to what you are asking people

to provide you. They should be written by adults who know you or your work well enough

to refer you for a scholarship, volunteer or work opportunity. Also remember our discussion about this in your Open Doors text: your goal is to be portrayed as favorably and accomplished as you honestly can be.

Therefore, the people you ask will need basic information from you. Be pro-active! For a Work Recommendation, why not provide your boss with a refresher list of your basic duties, your start date, and your end date if appropriate? Provide all others a list of prepared information they can draw from when you ask them for the recommendation (see the list at right for ideas). You can provide a school effort or job, hobbies and extra-curricular activities. Do you play sports, an instrument or are involved in 4-H or your church youth group? Include those things that emphasize your interests and personality!

Some people may appreciate a basic letter already written to use as a guide. If so, you can download the appropriate sample letter and modify it to reflect your accomplishments and abilities.

Finally, try to accumulate at least one recommendation of each type--and more when you can! File them in the individual portfolio you should be building. If so, chances are that you'll have needed recommendations on hand if and when another great opportunity crosses your path!

1. Personal Recommendation: this is from someone who can speak to your ability, faith, character, background, etc.

2. Work Recommendation: this is from a boss or other work superior who can attest to your performance on the job. If you run your own small business, you can ask for references by your customers, your suppliers, or your parent or guardian, as well.

3. School Recommendation: this is from a teacher, principal, guidance counselor, librarian or any other adult who can speak to your performance in your school setting. If you are educated at home, obviously, this could include a parent. However, recommendations from other adults would typically carry more weight--no one expects a parent to critique their student impartially! If you must use a parent for your School Recommendation, just try to obtain one other adult's Personal Recommendation, at the least, for your individual portfolio.

4. Internship or Volunteer Position Inquiry: this is written by you or someone on your behalf, such as a teacher. It is a letter asking if you can fill an internship or volunteer

position.

2. Helpful Resources: A Website Mini-List

1. 4-H (www.4-h.org)

2. Americans United for Life (www.aul.org )

3. Blackstone Fellowship (www.blackstonelegalfellowship.org )

4. Boys and Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org )

5. DIY, now Magnolia Network ( https://magnolia.com/workshops/ )

6. Education Resources Information Center (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ )

7. Family Policy Alliance (https://familypolicyalliance.com )

8. Family Research Council (www.frc.org )

9. Fellowship of Christian Athletes (http://www.fca.org/ )

10. Focus on the Family (http://www.focusonthefamily.com )