LoginsReviewers read your letter with one question in mind: does this student have the potential to become a research leader in science, mathematics, or engineering? Everything in your letter should help them answer it. Keep any description of your own program brief — just enough context for the student’s contribution to make sense.
If you are the student’s research mentor
Your letter is particularly relevant to the student’s application. Cover:
Your relationship: how long you have known the student, and in what capacity.
Their contribution: what the student did, and why it mattered to the project.
Their independence: how much guidance they needed, and the autonomy they demonstrated.
Their role on the team: in collaborative work, how critical their part was.
Their knowledge and skills: the competencies and accomplishments you have observed.
Their research traits: originality, intellectual daring, insight, creativity, perseverance, and integrity — each backed with a specific example.
Comparison: how the student compares with others you have known who went on to successful research careers.
Their motivation: what drives this student’s interest in research.
If you have observed the student’s research but did not mentor it
Faculty and postdocs in the student’s department should describe the context in which they observed the student, the research opportunities available at your institution, and the nature of the student’s research experiences (academic-year, summer, course-based, independent, or off-campus, such as an NSF REU). Focus on the characteristics that predict success as a research scientist, mathematician, or engineer, and compare the student with peers who are pursuing doctoral degrees and research careers.
If you taught the student in a course
Connect your course to the student’s research and career aspirations: how did their performance demonstrate readiness for a research career? Evaluate their ability to master complex material and present ideas coherently, compare them with former students who went on to successful research careers, and — if you know of them — mention extracurricular activities that show initiative, teamwork, or leadership.
Any letter writer with the relevant knowledge can also provide insights that will help the reviewers understand:
The extent to which research opportunities are available to the student.
The nature of those opportunities — academic-year projects, summer internships, course-based projects, independent research, or off-campus programs like NSF’s REU.
How the student’s research performance represents research potential in relation to the opportunities available.
Language that helps — and language that doesn’t
What helps
Research-relevant traits: analytical, careful, deliberate, persistent, accomplished, independent, creative.
Anchoring a trait to research behavior you have observed is particularly helpful to Goldwater reviewers.
What doesn’t
Letters recycled from other purposes; letters that offer no insight into the student’s likelihood of a research career; and letters that merely recite grades, class rank, or interpersonal skills without evidence.
Finally, remember that your letter joins a whole application: an excellent letter does not guarantee selection, and one weak element does not doom a nominee. Say what only you can say about this student — and say it specifically. Where relevant, note how the scholarship would affect the student’s trajectory.