Sample Letter of Reference for College Admissions
Letter of Recommendation
Student
This letter is intended to serve as a
college recommendation for Ezra Edlarruti. I have been acquainted
with Ezra for four years but came to know him well last year, as he
was in the one class that I taught, a thirteen-student junior
English class.
Last spring, while he was singing the lead in "The Marriage of
Figaro, " Ezra became especially interested in a short story that we
read as a class, Albert Camus's "The Guest." It is a challenging
story for any reader, and Ezra became interested in the subtleties
of interpreting it, especially in the difficulties inherent in the
translation of such a story. What did Camus really mean to say and
how might his intentions have been compromised by its English
translation? Ezra read the original, French, version of the story
and then wrote a superb analysis of the compromises inherent in its
English translation. His essay was flawless -- his wording apt, and
his analysis insightful, logical and comprehensive. Some of our
English faculty can't write so well.
Students and faculty often remark that Ezra is blessed with
considerable talent. What many of them overlook is how hard Ezra
works to cultivate his talent, whether it be the development of his
beautiful voice for an operatic performance or of his writing skills
as he works through an essay. I know of the effort that he put into
book reviews of _1984_ and _Animal Farm_ because he shared early
drafts with me. I also appreciate the time that he put into his
analysis of "The Guest" because he stopped by periodically to share
his enthusiasm for the project and his progress with it.
In over twenty-five years of teaching, I have known other students
with talent equivalent to Ezra's. Many of them lacked his good
nature and humility, and few demonstrated the genuine intellectual
curiosity that Ezra has exhibited over and over -- a curiosity that
is often accompanied by his excitement or enthusiasm for an idea, an
author, a literary work or the lead role in a challenging operatic
performance.
When I decided to set up a debate on Henry David Thoreau's "Civil
Disobedience, " regarding the role of government in our lives today,
in an effort to have the class appreciate more fully the
contemporary implications of Thoreau's sophisticated essay, it was
Ezra who was most helpful in creating a resolution that would lead
to that appreciation. Ezra, to no one's surprise, then agreed to
argue on any side of the debate.
Ezra is a motivated young man of numerous talents and considerable
self-discipline. He is fun-loving, likable, enthusiastic, trusting
and trustworthy.
Gary Youstis
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