Asking a referee without writing their letter for them

Ethical recommendation practice sits in a narrow corridor. You should not draft a letter in someone else’s voice. You also should not leave a busy referee with only “please say something nice.”

A usable brief names two or three concrete episodes they witnessed, the programme’s evaluation criteria in plain language, and the deadline with submission instructions. It never scripts praise.

When we run a Referee Brief Alignment Check, the most common repair is removing adjectives the referee never observed and restoring a specific classroom or lab moment they can stand behind.