小小飞鹰
儿时的作家梦
写推荐信得注意以下几点：
一，写推荐信的人不一定是要著名教授，因为对于西方国家的教授来说，中国的著名教授和普通教授没有什么两样，他都不了解。但推荐人一定得是个认识了你一段时间（最好是半年以上，教过你的课的人），对你很了解的人，这样的人写出来的推荐信才不会空洞无物。此外，推荐人千万不能是你的家人，亲戚或朋友，可以说美国人对这些人的推荐是完全不相信的。
二，推荐人本人的自我介绍要简短，把最重要的一两点写上就行了，不要本末倒置，因为这推荐信不是教授的自我介绍信。由于国内文化的不同，教授都有一大堆头衔，写上最大的一两个就足够了。还清楚的记得刚来美国以“特殊人才”申请绿卡时，我请老友Y君的导师D教授帮忙写一封推荐信，因为他有一年和Y君去中国开国际会议的时候，花了两天的时间看过我搞的好几个工程，对我印象特别深刻。由于他很忙，就要我自己起了一个草稿，于是我就从他的个人网页上，把他的五六个头衔都抄了下来。结果，当我收到D教授签名后的推荐信时，发现他把其中的五个都删掉了，只留下了“XXX教授”一个（冠名教授，在美国，冠名教授比其他教授都要厉害）。因为和这个最有影响的头衔相比，其他的就微不足道了。
三，推荐信一定要写得真实，说你厉害可以，但一定要有事实来佐证。例一，推荐人说“XXX是我教过的学生中最好的”，这话就有点空，如果改成“XXX是我1998年教过的那个班里50个学生中成绩第三名”就有说服力多了。例二，推荐人说“XXX的数学特好”，这就没有一点意义，如果改成“XXX的数学特好，例如，他在2010年的SAT考试中，数学拿到满分800分，在2009年湖南省高中数学竞赛中拿到第五名”，效果就会有天壤之别了。
四，一封推荐信里不一定要面面俱到，建议一个推荐人写两三个特突出的方面就行了，因为他不可能方方面面都很了解你。此外，一封推荐信的长度最好控制在一页纸，千万不要超过两页。
五，推荐信一定要推荐人自己签字，千万不要背着教授你自己替他签了，甚至于连知都不让他知道。有关这一点，教训是特别深刻的。那还是我在中科大的时候，一个学生用钱伟长的名义帮自己写了一封推荐信，钱先生连看都没有看到。这个学生被国外一著名教授招为学生。一天，这个著名教授被钱伟长邀请来中科大讲学，讲学中途这个外国教授表达了感谢钱先生给他推荐了如此好的一个先生。钱老一听，立马就说他没有推荐过这个学生，结果那教授回去后就向学校报告了这件事，这个学生也就立即被学校开除了，理由是他提交的申请材料造假。对于美国加拿大的大学来说，通常在学校给你发录取通知的时候，也给推荐人发去一封感谢信，并且要求推荐人签字寄回学校。如果学校收到推荐人的信说不是他写的，即使你已经入学了，学校也会开除你，到头来是偷鸡不成反蚀一把米，切记切记。
说了这么多，可能还是没有说清楚，下面我就附上两封推荐信样本，其格式与写法可供大家参考。顺便说一下注意事项：
1. 要采用正规信的格式
2. 字体及大小要一致.
3. 拼写和语法一定要仔细检查，不要出现有任何错误
4. 要用主动语态，避免用被动语态
推荐信例一
（来源于：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
推荐信例二
（来源于：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]
