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Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:10 pm
by bpolley0
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Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:44 pm
by FirmBiz
bpolley0 wrote:Hey everyone,
I just wanted to see what people's general opinion is on drafting one of your LOR yourself for the individual who is recommending you. The specific individual I am requesting a LOR from has requested that I write it and he will read it, review it, and sign it as long as he agrees with it. I don't see a general issue with this given the circumstance- he is relatively high up in my company, we work in a high intensity environment where he wouldn't have time to write this during work, and he works a lot of hours.
Contingent on the letter being well written and a thorough, objective analysis of my work there would anyone see a large issue with this given the circumstance?
Thank you for your thoughts/ opinions.
No issue with this because of your explanation and since it's going to get "signed off" before it's sent out, I'd say that this is a great opportunity.
Just don't "over-do" it and try and be fair and balanced while also helping yourself.
Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:48 am
by LawsRUs
One issue that I see here is that when you submit your LOR through LSAC, you might not be able to check the box that says you have not seen and read the letter.
Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:18 pm
by RSN
I'd recommend finding someone else to do it. From everything I've read, admissions officers are really, really good at analyzing writing styles, and if the letter comes off as too similar to your own materials, they will get suspicious. Plus it's surprisingly difficult to give yourself an honest and clear evaluation. I'd proceed with caution, and strongly consider if there's someone else with more time who may be able to support your application.
Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:39 pm
by CanadianWolf
Typically, a letter of recommendation should be from one familiar with your work & attitude so specifics are important. If you write your own LOR be sure to avoid including any negatives or half-hearted endorsements as these tend to resonate quite loudly in a LOR. Unfortunately, you cannot include any element of passion in a self-evaluation signed off by another. Try to get an additional LOR or two from other sources.
P.S. The fact that a recommender requires you to write your own evaluation suggests a lack of passion for your success on behalf of the superior.
Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:44 pm
by KMart
I had someone ask me to draft the letter and I explained how I didn't want to give the adcoms any reason whatsoever to think I had previously written it. I was willing to outline what the schools generally look for in a LOR and then meet with the writer to explain why I thought I was a good fit, but I wouldn't write a document and hand it to them. They read all day and you're submitting quite a lot of documents with your own writing; they can pick out what is your writing and what is theirs. It's a safer bet to not give them any reason to doubt your legitimacy as an applicant.
Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 8:50 pm
by bpolley0
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Re: Drafting your own LOR
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:10 pm
by LawsRUs
bpolley0 wrote:Lawsrus- hmm I didn't even think about that. Is there a reason why that would be a negative? I would generally think it would be in your own self interest to read over the LOR you are submitting anyways ..........
It raises a flag. On the form that you have to give to the recommender to sign, it will say that he acknowledges that the letter was seen. It raises some questions, such as if that was the case because you weren't comfortable with what your recommender would say and thus have issues with trust. I realize this is not the case here, but AOs will probably interpret it that way.
Thus, normally, it will be in an applicant's interests if the applicant defers the letter to the recommender and not read it. I hope that clarifies somewhat.