General Rules
Professors are, generally, happy to consider writing letters of recommendation for students who have completed course work for them. However, in order to ensure that faculty members are in a position to write you a strong letter, please see them during office hours or contact them over email well before giving them any materials. Usually, professors can write the most persuasive letters for students whose intellect and writing they have personally come to know from work in their courses. By "work" they usually mean both your writing for the course and your active participation in class discussions. (As a rule of thumb, you can usually expect the grade you received in a course to indicate the kind of letter your professor can write for you. Once you have cleared with the faculty member that he or she is able to write you a letter, please take note of the following. As you can imagine, it is in your very best interest to follow these guidelines fully since it allows the faculty member the opportunity to write the best possible letter for you. Faculty will highly recommend that you use a dossier service, such as the one provided by the Letters and Science/Human Ecology Career Service on campus (for further information on opening a letter of recommendation file go to www.lssaa.wisc.edu/careers/students/reference.php. This way, your letter writers can write a single letter that the service will securely reproduce and forward to as many places as you ask them to.

Specific Advice
Choosing a potential letter writer is a challenging task that demands attention to a variety of factors, including how well you performed in the professor’s course, how well the professor knows you, and whether or not the faculty member can write you a strong and supportive letter. However, once you have identified a professor who you think can write a strong letter for you, it is important that you do the following to secure a letter from them:

• Advance warning is crucial: Please provide your letter writer with the materials listed below at least 4 weeks (one month) prior to the due date of your application (this applies to applications for graduate schools, jobs or internships). Please note that just before and during school breaks, professors may need earlier notice. (If in doubt, contact the selected faculty member)
• Please include the following in a neat folder or manila envelope that has your name clearly marked on it:
• a resumé or a CV that includes information on your educational and professional background, as well as other information you think may be valuable for the professor to note (summer jobs, internships, fellowships, awards, time spent studying abroad, language skills, etc.);
• a draft copy of your statement of purpose or proposal to the program you are applying. (If you are applying for a fellowship, it is also a good idea to include a copy of the announcement). If you are not required to write a statement, please make sure to write a paragraph that explains what your application is intended to accomplish. The more information you give faculty, the better able he/she will be to personalize his/her letter for you;
• photocopies of course material that have been graded and handed back to you (papers, exams, etc.); please do NOT send professors NEW printouts or the originals; they usually like to see the marked and graded copy you got back from them;
• a copy of your transcript (photocopy of an unofficial transcript is fine) with the course(s) you took with the professor you are approaching for a letter highlighted;
• addressed-and-stamped envelopes with a clearly marked deadline so that the professor can send the letter to the correct place on time;
• your phone-number and email address (make sure that you check both regularly) should your letter writer need to reach you;
• a cover letter to the professor indicating any pertinent information you especially wish him/her to emphasize in the letter of recommendation. Please do not be modest here. If you feel that your oral skills were especially evident in the professor’s class, remind him/her of them; if you feel your research paper for her/his course provides a notably positive sense of your aptitude, please refresh his/her memory of it. A few ways you might do so politely could include: "I would especially like you to draw attention in your letter to... [because]..." or "Your letter could be especially helpful in drawing attention to the following skills that I developed/were evident in your class..”

And, finally, some general advice that is easily overlooked:

• always type all parts of your application, including the information on the letter of recommendation form (hand-written applications look immensely sloppy);
• have a competent friend read over and edit your letters, statements, etc.;
• it is always a good idea to send in your application early;
• it is appropriate to waive your right to read confidential letters;
• it is highly appropriate to thank your letter writers-- in writing-- for their trouble. This is a major (and much-remembered) courtesy, one of many that keeps the wheels of the world turning smoothly!
• it is expected that you will keep your letter writers informed about the outcome of your application once you know it (professors are always curious to find out how things work out for their students), and this is particularly appropriate if you intend to ask a professor to update your letter in the future.

Good luck!