Is it “Mr.”/“Ms.” or “Jane”/“Joe” in the Recommendation Letter?

I have several student recommendations on my “to do” list for this weekend.  Writing many  in a concentrated period has focused my attention on voice and tone.  Looking at the last few recommendations I have written, I seem to use different degrees of formality, depending on the intended recipient of the letter and how well I know the student.  Generally, in clerkship recommendations, I refer to the student as “Mr. Jones” or “Ms. Smith.”  In recommendations for LL.M. programs, I tend to refer to the student by his or her first name.  For other types of recommendations, sometimes I do the former.  Sometimes I do the latter. 

Does it make a difference whether I refer to a student by his or her first name or last name?  Do I convey a professorial detachment by using “Mr.”/“Ms.” and first-hand, personal knowledge with “Jane”/“Joe”?  I have some colleagues who always call their students by first names, and so for them, it would be awkward to write a recommendation using “Mr.”/“Ms.” But I’m of divided mind.  In my large classes (100+ people), I use last names.  In seminars, I use first names.  So if I have had the same student in both a large class and in a seminar, there’s no “natural” choice for me.

Researchers at Rice University are studying recommendation letters.  Their preliminary findings (described here) suggest another angle to consider.  Letter-writers seem to use different language to describe male and female candidates.

They found that letter writers conformed to traditional gender schemas when describing candidates. Female candidates were described in more communal (social or emotive) terms and male candidates in more agentic (active or assertive) terms. * * *

Words in the communal category included adjectives such as affectionate, helpful, kind, sympathetic, nurturing, tactful and agreeable, and behaviors such as helping others, taking direction well and maintaining relationships. Agentic adjectives included words such as confident, aggressive, ambitious, dominant, forceful, independent, daring, outspoken and intellectual, and behaviors such as speaking assertively, influencing others and initiating tasks.

The Rice full press release is here. 

One might be inclined to excuse, justify, accept, tolerate or shrug one's shoulders at a finding of gender-differentiated word choice.  Still, it is worth considering the “kicker.”  Controlling for all other variables, the Rice researchers found that the recommendations for male candidates were treated by faculty appointments committees as more “influential.”

What might any of this suggest for my weekend task of writing recommendations for students?  Perhaps nothing.  The Rice researchers studied recommendations for faculty appointments in an unspecified area (although seemingly not law).  And the study involved faculty appointments, not clerkships, LL.M. programs, or even law-related jobs.  According to some lore, it’s harder to get appointed to a law school faculty than to just about any other law-related job.  But I’m still going to check my adjectives before I send out any more recommendation letters.

Comments

[anon]

The idea someone would use the words: affectionate, sympathetic, nurturing, aggressive, dominant, forceful, or daring seems crazy to me. But, this is great food for thought as I write letters!

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