推荐信里的tricks[英文]

推荐信里的 tricks[英文] WHAT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION SAY ==.AND WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN Hard-working, workmanlike, industrious, diligent, persistent. ==This person is not very original, but he sure tries hard. Shy, low-key, keeps his own counsel. ==This person is socially dysfunctional. I recommend this person ... without reservation, with enthusiasm, with my highest endorsement. ==Hire this person. I recommend this person ... warmly, strongly, to any department with a job in her area. ==Do not hire this person. Well-grounded. ==This scholar is hopelessly mired in bourgeois notions of proof. This student is always willing to engage in vigorous debate. ==This student is really obnoxious. Solid, competent, scoured the archives, good study habits. ==This student is a plodding dullard who will never produce anything of interest. This person is an outstanding scholar （without any mention of teaching）. ==This person is lousy in the classroom. This person is an outstanding teacher （without any mention of research）. ==This person is a lousy scholar. Path-breaking, brilliant, first-rate, making fundamental contributions to the field. ==This scholar is at the top of her discipline. This is a person of great promise, who is working on important issues. == As a scholar, this person has not yet arrived. Eclectic or synthetic scholarship. ==This academic is a flake. At first, this student wasn't sure she wanted to be an English major, but in the last couple of months, her work has really flowered. ==This student has a lot of bad grades. Independent thinker. ==This student is arrogant and wouldn't follow his adviser's recommendations. （Depending on the context, however, it can also mean imaginative.） The acorn hasn't fallen far from the tree. ==This student's work is dreadfully derivative and adds nothing to what her dissertation adviser has already written. Articulate. ==This person is a safe minority scholar who will not give you any trouble. He will blossom with further mentoring. ==I have serious doubts that I will ever see this person publish an article, much less a book. Smart. ==This person is clever but superficial. （Although, if said about someone in the humanities, it might mean that the person is well-dressed.） When this student walks into class, the room lights up. We had long discussions after class. ==I am hopelessly in love with this student. A note of caution: Interpreting letters of recommendation is a tricky business. A term like "hard-working" can be the kiss of death for a job candidate if the only other adjectives in the letter focus on effort. But if "hard-working" is sandwiched between long, gushing passages about keen intellect and boundless imagination, it can clinch the deal. Context is crucial. SOURCE: Chronicle reporting The Chronicle of Higher Education