✍️ Writing
College Recommendation Letter Writer for High School Teachers and Counselors: Common App Style Teacher Evaluations From an Anecdote Bank, Specific Classroom Evidence, Peer Context, a Length Target, and No Hollow Superlatives
Write a college recommendation letter that admissions readers can actually use: an anecdote bank from your notes and the student's brag sheet, two or three specific classroom moments, honest comparative context against the students you have taught, a one page length target, a check on whether the student waived FERPA access, and a cut list of empty superlatives.
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Prompt
Act as a veteran high school English teacher and former college counselor who has written hundreds of Common App style teacher evaluations and knows that an admissions reader spends a few minutes on each letter and remembers one concrete scene, not a list of adjectives. Inputs: - Writer role (subject teacher or school counselor), subject and course level, years teaching, how long and in what settings you have known the student: [WriterRole] - Your own notes: moments in class, work samples, quotes from discussions, growth over time: [ClassroomNotes] - The student's brag sheet or questionnaire answers: activities, intended major, what they want the letter to show: [BragSheet] - Honest comparative context: how this student ranks among students you have taught in this course, in words or ranges you can stand behind: [PeerContext] - Target length and where it will be submitted (Common App teacher evaluation, Coalition, a specific program): [LengthTarget] - Whether the student waived the right to access recommendations (yes, no, unknown): [FerpaWaiver] - Anything you must not mention (health, family situation, disability) unless the student asked: [Exclusions] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. An anecdote bank table from ClassroomNotes and BragSheet: moment, date or unit, quality it proves (intellectual curiosity, persistence, leadership, kindness), and strength of evidence (seen by me, reported by student). Rank the top three seen by me. 2. A one sentence thesis about the student as a learner that the top anecdotes prove, plus the intended major link only if your evidence supports it. 3. The letter: an opening that states your role, course, and how long you have known the student; two or three body paragraphs, each built on one specific classroom moment with what the student did, said, or produced; a paragraph of comparative context using PeerContext; and a closing recommendation strength that matches the evidence. 4. A hollow superlative audit: list every phrase like best ever, truly exceptional, or one of a kind, and replace each with the evidence that earns it or cut it. 5. A brag sheet overlap check: flag sentences that only repeat activities the application already lists, and replace them with what you saw in your classroom. 6. A length check against LengthTarget with word count, plus a list of what to cut first if it runs long. 7. A FERPA note based on FerpaWaiver: if waived, write candidly; if not waived or unknown, remind the writer the student may later read it and suggest confirming the waiver status in the application system. 8. A short counselor or second letter handoff: two qualities this letter covers so another recommender can cover different ground. Constraints: - Use only facts from Inputs. Never invent grades, rankings, awards, quotes, or classroom scenes, and never state a percentile the writer did not supply. - Leave everything in Exclusions out. Keep tone warm and specific; no em dashes; one page unless LengthTarget says otherwise.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
WriterRole: AP Chemistry teacher, 14 years teaching, taught Daniela Ortiz in Honors Chemistry (grade 10) and AP Chemistry (grade 11), also advised her in Science Olympiad ClassroomNotes: titration lab where her group's results were off; she traced it to a burette she had not rinsed with titrant, re-ran it at lunch, and wrote a half page error analysis nobody asked for. Asked in October why the ideal gas law fails for water vapor and came back with a van der Waals comparison. Tutored two classmates before the unit 5 test without being asked. Quiet in large group discussion in grade 10, led lab debriefs by spring of grade 11. BragSheet: wants chemical engineering, Science Olympiad captain, works weekends at her family's bakery, wants the letter to show she is more than grades PeerContext: among the strongest five or so students I have taught in AP Chemistry; the most careful lab worker this year LengthTarget: Common App teacher evaluation, about 450 to 550 words FerpaWaiver: yes Exclusions: her father's illness last spring Format: anecdote bank, letter, audits, handoff
Example Output
Anecdote bank | Moment | When | Quality | Evidence | | Re-ran titration at lunch, wrote error analysis | AP Chem, fall gr 11 | persistence, rigor | seen by me (top 1) | | Van der Waals question on water vapor | AP Chem, October | curiosity | seen by me (top 2) | | Led lab debriefs after a quiet start | gr 10 to spring gr 11 | growth, leadership | seen by me (top 3) | | Tutored two classmates before unit 5 test | AP Chem | generosity | seen by me | | Bakery weekends | ongoing | work ethic | reported by student | Thesis: Daniela does not accept an answer she cannot explain, and she brings other people along when she finds one. Letter I have taught chemistry for fourteen years, and I have known Daniela Ortiz for two of them: in Honors Chemistry as a sophomore, in AP Chemistry this year, and as one of my Science Olympiad students. The moment I think of first is a titration lab last fall. Her group's concentration came out wrong, and most students would have written "human error" and moved on. Daniela spent the evening working backward and found that she had rinsed the burette with water instead of titrant, diluting every trial. She asked to re-run the lab at lunch, got a result within a fraction of a percent of the accepted value, and handed me a half page error analysis I had not assigned. That page is now my example of what a real error analysis looks like. Her questions go past the syllabus. In October, while we were working ideal gas problems, she asked why the law gives poor results for water vapor near its boiling point. A week later she came back with a comparison to the van der Waals equation and a clear explanation of intermolecular attraction. That is the habit of mind chemical engineering asks for. She has also grown as a leader. As a sophomore she rarely spoke in full class discussion. By this spring she was running our post lab debriefs, calling on quieter classmates and asking them to defend their numbers. Before the unit 5 test, without any prompting from me, she tutored two classmates through equilibrium problems. Among the students I have taught in AP Chemistry, Daniela is among the strongest five or so, and she is the most careful lab worker in my classes this year. I recommend Daniela with enthusiasm and without reservation. She will make a lab better by being in it. Word count: 299 for the body. Under the 450 to 550 target; add one Science Olympiad scene from your notes if you have one you saw yourself. Hollow superlative audit - "truly exceptional student" in the draft: cut, replaced by the titration story - "best ever": not used; PeerContext gives the honest version Brag sheet overlap: "Science Olympiad captain" removed from the body because the activities list shows it. FERPA note: waiver is yes, so the letter is written candidly. Confirm the waiver box in the application system before upload. Exclusions check: no mention of her father's illness. Handoff for the counselor letter: this letter covers lab rigor and curiosity. Suggest the counselor cover her bakery work and family responsibilities only as she chooses to share them.