Hopefully you got an ‘A’ in my class, because courses taken and grades received are one of the items I need to include. Note that there is a difference between just a letter of reference and a strong letter of reference, which needs to have specific evidence.
For the purposes of the recommendation letter or reference, please email me:
A picture of you, to help me remember our interactions.
Your UIN number. If you are currently (or recently) a student I can use this to look up your academic record.
A list of course you've taken and grades received. This can be an unofficial copy of your transcript. Please highlight courses taken with me so it is clear when you were in the course.
A current copy of your resume.
Any required forms (or drop them off at my office if they are physical forms)
A personal statement.
This is for me, not for anyone else. This should include information about you that I might not know otherwise. This is basically giving me ammunition to help write a good letter. Please include:
A paragraph indicating specifically why you and your background and talents are a good match for this opportunity.
Any exceptional work you did while in one of my classes.
As part of your personal statement choose several of the following list of characteristics (or others) you may have, for which you can provide specific evidence. This evidence could be a school activity, a role in which you’ve served in a student organization, volunteer activities, an event with which you helped, a paper you wrote, or a project you created.
Motivated and hardworking
Intellectual/scholarly ability
Analytical thought
Technical knowledge
Research skills
Creativity
Writing, presentation and/or teaching skills
Ability to work well in a team
Collegiality (being a good person to work with)
Leadership ability
Emotional maturity
Integrity
...
After we've agreed that I will write you a letter, If you haven't heard from me, please contact me a week before the deadline.
(I recommend that every semester in school you choose one assignment in at least one class and do an absolutely outstanding job on it, and talk to the teacher about it. This way both you and your teacher can use this when it comes time to getting a reference.)
This page linked through bit.ly/reedrecletters