CKJ/12/08/10

Unlocking the Mystery of Economics PhD Admissions

www.unlockeconphd.blogspot.com

On the demand of many readers I have prepared these two recommendation letter
drafts. Most of the schools ask for 3 recommendation letters. However applicants can
prepare third draft by selecting suitable and appropriate sentences from these two
drafts. Try to avoid too many same sentences in more than one recommendation letter.
It is also the responsibility of the applicant to use the sentences which best fits him
because not every sentence fits to every applicant. Remember something which seems
to be ‘white lie’ may jeopardize your chances of securing admission. So make sure you
don’t lie. Even though recommendation is supposed to be written not by you, but the
Professors the admission committee knows that in most parts of the world an applicant
prepares the draft for the same. So it’s you responsibility to include only relevant and
appropriate stuffs which shows you a suitable candidate for PhD. Focus on your
strengths and get it substantiated by your recommenders. If you have any questions,
Please email me. Any comments and feedbacks are also welcome.

Thanks for subscribing to the blog

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All the best,

RECO DREAFT 1

Letter of Reference

I know Mr /Ms ………….. since…….. In this association I have been his/her professor as
well as his thesis supervisor at the (…College or University name as applicable)….. I
have interacted with him for long hours on Economics and related subjects. In the
thesis, he makes an analysis of (….what is your research paper about… if you didn’t
have a research paper… remove this sentence…). From our discussions it was apparent
that he was motivated to research in the area of……...

I was impressed with his/her research skills and analytical ability during the course of
guiding his research efforts for his/her thesis. It is important to note that this thesis is

Unlocking the mystery of economics PhD admissions

www.unlockeconphd.blogspot.com
CKJ/12/08/10

his/her original work of research. He/she has excellent ability to find the relevant
information from original published research paper in scholarly journals and analyse
the content. He/she comes up with an excellent conclusion about the strengths and
weaknesses of a research paper taking into account the logical and empirical
consistencies. He/she is very competent in using statistical packages such as STATA,
SPSS. He/she deftly used these packages for multivariate analysis of data over # years
for his Master level thesis.

“Your name” has demonstrated a very strong appetite for further research and is keen
to learn. His/her decision to join ************ as a research associate (or whatever)
was the result of his/her sincerity towards research and academics. His/her paper
“TITLE” presented or published in “so and so” journal exemplifies his/her sincerity
towards research.

His/her intelligence and command over his subject is obvious from the fact that he/she
ranked first (or may be in top 5% as applicable) among the entire class of
Undergraduate Degree College. He/she got a distinction in “Research Paper (if it’s
counted as a course)” which was the result of his/her hard work, good analytical and
research ability and dedication for the research. In the light of his/her excellent
academic background and commitment for quality research, I strongly recommend
him/her as a student of Ph.D. in economics. I am sure he/she will prove his abilities in
further studies and research and contribute to academics and research and contribute
to the body of knowledge available to academia at large.

Unlocking the mystery of economics PhD admissions

www.unlockeconphd.blogspot.com
CKJ/12/08/10

RECO DRAFT 2
To whomsoever it may concern

I feel delighted to recommend Mr……. for further studies at your esteemed institute. I
know him as a student in my course of ……. In the class his queries were very logical
which revealed his strong analytical ability and regular studying habit.I could note that
he has excellent command over the basic and advanced concepts of economics. He
also has excellent communication skills and an ability of multitasking.

Your name………..is endowed with creative mind, well read and competent in the use of
quantitative techniques. He has a taste for carrying out empirical research with
analytical rigour and is logical and candid in giving interpretation to research findings.
He has got the conceptual clarity and is very keen for further studies. In his
dissertationor research paper on ……… he has shown his research skills and employed
the econometric model very well. He has good understanding of the research methods
and has sufficient prerequisites in terms of theoretical and mathematical
understanding to carry out research.He seemed to be very much interested in the
………..

He actively participated in cultural and sports activities and weekly seminars held at
the school. In the seminar he was able to justify his presence through logical and
penetrative questions. His combination of intelligence, commitment and creativity
makes him a valuable candidate for any academic program. I encourage you to
favourably consider his application.

Unlocking the mystery of economics PhD admissions

www.unlockeconphd.blogspot.com