DEH Student Workshop : Recommendation Letters - Ground Rules

The Department of English and Humanities at ULAB organized a workshop on “Recommendation Letters: Ground Rules” on November 10, 2022 for the students of ENG 413, 499 and 498. The workshop was facilitated by the Head of the Department and Associate Professor, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman.

The workshop was arranged to guide students on the ground rules for requesting recommendation letters that are related with their future life, higher studies, funding and scholarships, or job sector. Ms. Rahman explained the importance of a good recommendation letter to help establish the claims of a student from a credible source. She began the workshop by asking students to write an email to a certain referee to request for a recommendation letter. Then feedback was given on the emails as students shared their work.

Ms. Rahman added that recommendation letters are usually written in favor of a student’s skills and achievements. So, the letter should be written by a referee who is familiar with the student and the relationship is congenial. Students must provide all relevant information and documents when asking for a recommendation letter. In addition, permission must be taken before including a referee’s name in a CV or application.

Furthermore, Ms. Rahman warned against making a request at the last moment as it is nearly impossible to fulfill the request. The deadline must be mentioned with enough time for the referee to write the letter. Gentle reminders may be sent closer to the deadline. The mail must be written formally and courteously. The students were shown some examples of unprofessional emails as well as some appropriate ones.

The session ended with a round of questions and answers.

Report by Sadia Mukarrama (191013002)