Letter of Reference, Please

From: Wanting

Subject: Re: Letter of reference

Date: 15 January, 2011 3:48:16 PM EST

To: Mr. Meritocracy

Hi,

I hope you had a fantastic holiday!

I am writing to you to see if you would consider providing a reference for me to This University and That University for PhD studies. I have attached my CV and personal statement. They are due by the end of January.

Thanks so much!

Wanting

From: Mr. Meritocracy 

Subject: Re: Letter of reference

Date: 10 January, 2011 5:04:17 PM EST

To: The Hopeless

Hello,

Thank you for your email and attached documentation which I have read. Your CV is impressive and very well presented. Your statement of interest for That University is very clear, and informed by correspondence with some of their faculty. 

If I write a letter of reference on your behalf this would be the first one I would write on the basis of having had known the student only in one course. I can't help but think that a letter from a faculty member with whom you have taken more than one course, and in which your work was highly considered (A),  would be more helpful to you.

I write this with the knowledge that members of Admission Committee look carefully at all components of an application. In a competitive process, the strongest application is the one with the greatest strength in all the components of an application. From then on it is a matter of ranking. Hence my submitting the above suggestion for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. M