to whom it may concern,
please accept my recommendation for a young man , in my opinion, who enjoys a unique enthusiasm for and ability in the study of law. in all facets of fu-ping wangs record, from his academic to extracurricular to community work, i think the academic committee of your prestigious ll. m. program stands to gain an invaluable asset to next falls incoming class, if you accept this prospective student. he has managed to set himself apart from his peers in the law department of taiwans most acclaimed university. nfu sends each year the nations best and brightest students to american graduate programs, and it is my pleasure to recommend fu-ping wang as yet another example of this excellence.
as his undergraduate professor i taught mr. wang in two classes pertaining to his major, criminal policy and criminology. he finished in the top 10% in each class. i remember his being an active member of class discussion, a coordinator and conveyor of student opinion. in all completed assignments there was special attention to detail, a special creativity and motivation in opinions and theories that was absent in the majority of his classmates. to say the least, he possesses the necessary reasoning facilities and intelligence to take on the rigorous curriculum of an ll. m. program. i am confident of this fact.
but there is more to mr. wang than just another candidate who possesses the necessary intelligence and scores. there is his unique enthusiasm for his area of study and its real life impact on the community in which he lives. one senses there is a larger call to duty when he states it is his goal to become a successful legal practitioner. i have noticed a strong affinity for placing a practical application on his academic and research focuses. while too many lawyers have entered their respective field too idealistic to placate the gulf between class and the courtroom, mr. wang has illustrated the competence and maturity to reason the difference between the abstract and the reality of this tough profession.
more specifically, i am referring to his work on the judicial reform foundation, where he began his practical legal training and volunteer work while still an undergraduate. i trust his abilities to help someday reform taiwans legal codes to match the progressiveness of its present political, social and cultural development. while many of his peers are complacent with and poised to become corporate lawyers, his place will be in the community with the people who do not possess the affluence and education to know fully their rights and duties as citizens.
i think that the uniqueness of his record speaks for itself, and i applaud his decision to attend the prestigious academic environment in the united states for her ll. m. degree. it will provide him with even more legal framework and precedents to meet the trying conditions taiwans rapidly demoractizing society will meet in the coming decades.
sincerely yours,
john wu
professor
推薦信分析：
這封推薦信的第一個優點，就是合乎英文閱讀習慣的結構，在第一段就出現了主題句(topic sentence)，陳述這名申請者之所以值得推薦，是因爲申請者有很好的分析與理解能力、清楚的事業藍圖、以及對社會的關懷;接下來的三段，則分別針對分析理解力、事業藍圖、及社會關懷這三個重點舉出申請者在課堂表現、法律服務社、以及鄉村服務社的具體表現作爲例證，同時帶出了這個申請者不同於其他法學院學生的'領導力與關懷社會的特質。
第二個優點，則是具體的形容了申請人所在的母羣體。推薦人將這名申請人形容爲在母羣體中出類拔萃，又將母羣體形容成「臺灣最好、最聰明的未來律師」，有了具體的比較基礎，自然更讓對方相信這名申請者的傑出能力。
第三點則是強調了申請者的獨特性，推薦人藉由申請者的大學社團經驗，特別強調當其他法學院學生都競相投入商業界下海撈錢的現狀下，這名申請者卻仍保持對社會弱勢團體的關懷，並以服務社會作爲他一生的職志。
不過，能讓這封推薦信出色的元素，並不能保證讓其他推薦信也有同樣出色的效果。申請者在替自己擬推薦信的草稿的時候，要把握住一致性和明確性的原則，並針對個人背景條件，甚至是生命中一些偶發的小事件，來寫出一封良好的自我推薦信。