推荐信里的trick

加跟贴 发新贴

吉茄

白人教授推荐信的用词，白人教授看得懂，至于绿卡推荐信嘛，移民官看得很仔细吗？

大家请看 ALISON SCHNEIDER 的Why You Can't Trust Letters of Recommendation

Friends use puffery and foes carry out vendettas -- while everyone fears lawsuits

WHAT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION SAY AND WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN

Hard-working, workmanlike, industrious, diligent, persistent.

==This person is not very original, but he sure tries hard.

Shy, low-key, keeps his own counsel.

==This person is socially dysfunctional.

I recommend this person ... without reservation, with enthusiasm, with my highest endorsement.

==Hire this person.

I recommend this person ... warmly, strongly, to any department with a job in her area.

==Do not hire this person.

Well-grounded.

==This scholar is hopelessly mired in bourgeois notions of proof.

This student is always willing to engage in vigorous debate.

==This student is really obnoxious.

Solid, competent, scoured the archives, good study habits.

==This student is a plodding dullard who will never produce anything of interest.

This person is an outstanding scholar (without any mention of teaching).

==This person is lousy in the classroom.

This person is an outstanding teacher (without any mention of research).

==This person is a lousy scholar.

Path-breaking, brilliant, first-rate, making fundamental contributions to the field.

==This scholar is at the top of her discipline.

This is a person of great promise, who is working on important issues.

== As a scholar, this person has not yet arrived.

Eclectic or synthetic scholarship.

==This academic is a flake.

At first, this student wasn't sure she wanted to be an English major, but in the last couple of months, her work has really flowered.

==This student has a lot of bad grades.

Independent thinker.

==This student is arrogant and wouldn't follow his adviser's recommendations. (Depending on the context, however, it can also mean imaginative.)

The acorn hasn't fallen far from the tree.

==This student's work is dreadfully derivative and adds nothing to what her dissertation adviser has already written.

Articulate.

==This person is a safe minority scholar who will not give you any trouble.

He will blossom with further mentoring.

==I have serious doubts that I will ever see this person publish an article, much less a book.

Smart.

==This person is clever but superficial. (Although, if said about someone in the humanities, it might mean that the person is well-dressed.)

When this student walks into class, the room lights up. We had long discussions after class.

==I am hopelessly in love with this student.

A note of caution: Interpreting letters of recommendation is a tricky business. A term like "hard-working" can be the kiss of death for a job candidate if the only other adjectives in the letter focus on effort. But if "hard-working" is sandwiched between long, gushing passages about keen intellect and boundless imagination, it can clinch the deal. Context is crucial.

SOURCE: Chronicle reporting

The Chronicle of Higher Education

加跟贴 发新贴 〖一品 百草园索引首页〗