Possible Explanations for the Moon Illusion

Possible Explanations for the Moon Illusion Theories Cognitive Psychology Print Possible Explanations for the Moon Illusion By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on July 29, 2019 Luca Libralato Photography / Getty Images More in Theories Cognitive Psychology Behavioral Psychology Developmental Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Biological Psychology Psychosocial Psychology Have you ever noticed how the moon looks bigger when it is on the horizon than it does when it is high in the sky? The moon often looks huge as it begins to peek up over the horizon, but hours later as you glance up into the night sky you will note that it now appears much smaller. This phenomenon is known as  the moon illusion. While the moon illusion is well known through human history and culture, researchers are still debating explanations for why it happens. Apparent Distance Theory According to this possible explanation for the moon illusion, depth perception plays an important role in how we see the moon at the horizon versus high in the sky. This theory is centered on the idea that when you view the moon at the horizon, you are seeing it in the presence of depth cues such as trees, mountains, and other scenery. When the moon has moved higher into the sky, those depth cues disappear. Because of this, the apparent distance theory suggests, we tend to see the moon as further away on the horizon than we see it when it elevated in the sky. Researchers have found evidence supporting the apparent distance explanation. In one experiment, participants perceived the moon as farther away and 1.3 times larger when it was viewed over natural terrain. Experimenters then masked off the terrain by having participants view the moon through a hole in a piece of cardboard, which caused the moon illusion to vanish. Angular  Size-Contrast Theory This explanation focuses instead on the visual angle of the moon in comparison to surrounding objects. When the moon is on the horizon and surrounded by smaller objects, it appears larger. At its zenith, the moon appears much smaller because it is surrounded by the large expanse of the sky. Factors That Influence the Illusion While these are just two of the most prominent theories, there have been  many  different explanations proposed over the years and no true consensus exists. Part of the reason is that there are a number of factors that appear to influence the occurrence of this optical phenomenon, including: Color: When the moon appears red (due to smoke or dust in the air), it appears larger. Those who live in rural areas may notice this effect during harvest season when the horizon is often clouded with dust and other particulates.Atmospheric Perspective: When it is hazy or smoky outside, the moon appears larger on the horizon. After a forest fire or on a day when it seems particularly smoggy, you might notice that the moon illusion seems more pronounced.Visual Factors: Convergence of the eyes when viewing things on the horizon also causes objects to appear larger. As with other visual phenomena, it is possible that no single variable can adequately explain the moon illusion. Instead, it is possible that many different factors might play a role.

The Diary Of A Warrior - 1918 Words

Diary of a Warrior It was just any other day in the office that I work at. I got a call from my assistant at the front desk saying there was a student here and he wants to see me. I ask her what he wanted to see me for and she said he found an old war Diary of a warrior in Alexander the Greats army. When I heard this i didn’t believe it but I told my assistant to bring the student up. I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it, there was a kid holding a book that looked very old and ancient like. He handed me this book and asked me what I thought about it. I looked over it and saw that this diary was over a middle aged man during the classical Greece era who was in the army of Alexander the Great. I couldn’t believe what I was†¦show more content†¦Entry 2 I knew my mother would not like the fact that I would be going off to war but my father knew it was the right thing for me to do. My father knew it was the right thing for me to do because he knew I would be a great infantry man in the army. Because my dad thought this I did not want to let him down so I knew right there and then that I was going into the army and fighting for King Philip. Entry 3 Out of the blue we all got word that king Philip was assonated, when we heard this we all didn’t know what would happen. Then we learned that his son Alexander took over and he was going to lead people into war. So when I got called on to go into the army I did and we started to train. The training was very intense. It was nothing like I have experience before, right off the bat they told us if we did not die in batter we better be wounded because if not then we did not fight hard enough. Another part of our training was how to wield a sword and fight with a sword and shield. I have never done this before and I was super excited. I remember how heavy the sword and shield was and how easy it was to swing when you had the momentum going with it. After training for a couple of months we were ready to go into war and fight. Entry 4 In the spring of 334 B.C.E we entered the Asia Minor to attack and by the following spring we had conquered the entire western half of AsiaShow MoreRelatedLittle Rock Nine794 Words   |  3 PagesBeal’s Warriors Don’t Cry provides about the integration of Little Rock Central High School is the emotional toll that the integration brought on the students and their community. This is the most important piece of historical information provided by Warriors because it is told from a first person point of view, and it reveals how difficult it was for blacks and whites to accept integration and how far they were willing to go to put an end to it. 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The amazing history of our warriors and the faces of inspirational youth and the bright future are among the top reason why many Malaysian are very proud to say Malaysia, my homeland! Boom! Boom! The eerie sounds of gunshots and bombs blowing up have always become the background ofRead MoreWarriors Dont Cry Essay1287 Words   |  6 PagesIn her memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her experiences as she became one of the first nine black students educated in an integrated white school. She and her friends, who became known as the â€Å"Little Rock Nine†, elicited both support and criticism from their family members, friends, community members, military troops, in addition to the President of the United States. Melba’s experiences, while heartbreaking and sobering, highlight the strength to overcome that individualsRead MoreSherman Alexie s A Native American859 Words   |  4 Pagesbetween Victor’s economic issues and those living in any Native American reservation. This is not a message about resilience, but about the poverty and economical disadvantage Native Americans face every day. In a quote from his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie speaks about the problem of poverty by writing, â€Å"Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor† (11). As Victor and Thomas’ journey develops, theRead MoreEssay Pres, Truman Atomic Bomb Decision1421 Words   |  6 Pagespersonally decided not to deploy it, especially if the war had dragged on with additional American casualties. Here is an entry from Trumans diary, I have to decide Japanese strategy - shall we invade Japan proper or shall we bomb and blockade? That is my hardest decision to date. 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India Technological University For Projects - 1702 Words

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are utmost thankful to Gujarat Technological University for including projects in our curriculum. We as students have learned a lot and will continue doing so for the rest of the time period of the project. Thanks to our internal guide Prof. Parita Giri for a search-light guidance in our project. They helped us quite for project and report both. Special thanks to our HOD C.D. Kotawal for opening up a new way of seeing things and doing projects. With his unflinching directions and clear mind he illuminated us. And last but not the least our parents and friends for their patience, love and care while we dragged through this venture. For standing by us in toughest of time, we thank them. Above all, to GOD, almighty, we bow and lay down our sincere prayers and thank him. ABSTRACT The project is designed to minimize penalty for industrial units by using automatic power factor correction unit with the help of zig-bee. 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How Does Phonics Develop Early Reading Free Essays

How does phonics develop early reading and how should phonics be taught? The most important skill any child can leave primary school with is the ability to read independently and effectively for meaning. ’ (DFE National Literacy Strategy) Reading has become an integral part of our lives; within the world we live in today we rely heavily on information and environmental text. It is important that from an early age Children are immersed in books everyday. We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Phonics Develop Early Reading? or any similar topic only for you Order Now With parents reading short stories to there children daily it will be inevitable that those children will stand a better chance at becoming stronger fluent readers. However distractions at home can have a detrimental affect on children’s development in reading as parents may not have enough time to help this. Many subjects rely on access to texts and an holdup or absence in basic literacy skills will effect progress in these areas. Phonics is â€Å"a method of teaching people to read by correlating sounds with symbols in an alphabetic writing system. (Oxford Dictionaries) Phonics is not something new and has been used in schools to help children learn and read since the â€Å"mid nineteenth century† (Browne 2011, 27) Although it had become less significant within schools during 1950’s it has continued to appear in practice within schools since. Within this essay I will be looking into the role of Phonics within teaching children to read while also looking at the different phonic systems in place and choosing the most effective one. I will be talking about the theory I have learned as well as my experience in schools while on placement with my foundation two class. There are two methods of teaching phonics in the classroom both Synthetic Phonics and Analytical Phonics. I will be concentrating more on Synthetic Phonics as it is considered to be â€Å"the best method for teaching reading. † (DfE 2010, p11) Children are taught to read and spell during the same period. They are taught the individual correspondences between sounds that are known as phonemes and written letters, which are known as graphemes. An example of this would be h-a-t = hat. They can also use this technique to pull apart those sounds that would help with spelling of words. For example hat = h-a-t. (Rowlingson) Whereas Analytical phonics is the complete opposite as they will start with a whole word and analyse a part of it. â€Å"In English there are 44 sounds (Phonemes) which are written using 26 letters of the alphabet† (Browne 2011, p27) There are many more Graphemes than Phonemes with most phonemes being represented by a number of different graphemes. Synthetic phonics can be taught in many ways. The Primary Framework for Literacy (DfES, 2006a) gives a progressive plan on how to teach phonics. I found during my time with Foundation year 2’s the teacher I was working with concentrated on implementing four new letters every week as well as recapping what they had learnt from the previous week. I asked her if it worked well and she certainly seemed to think so. Before she would be doing a new letter a day, although this would allow her to teach at a good pace she noticed the children were struggling to remember all the letters and sounds they would learn. Because of this she had to revise the way she was teaching the phonics to go at a pace the children were comfortable with. She revised her plan so that every day her children would recap over the letters they had previously been taught. I noticed that however much planning was in place that it was always best to go by how the children would cope and over time you will become familiar with the class you are working with and this will come naturally. Once the alphabetic code has been taught you will advance to more complex graphemes and simple consonant-vowel-consonant words to much more complex CVC words. This will give the children a good understanding of being able to read and write these. It also allows them to then combine what they have learnt from the sounds into whole words. This however doesn’t always work with all words that are known as ‘phonically irregular’ also known as ‘tricky words’ as they do not comply to the phonics rules that are being taught. An example of this will be l-i-g-h-t, which clearly won’t make much sense when viewed from a phonics point of view. These words will be learnt by rote, which is a memorizing process using repetition where the teacher feels appropriate based on how successful the child is at reading. By understanding these procedures of reading it is possible to decode entirely unfamiliar words. From my experience within my Foundation year two class I learnt that it was important to keep the phonics lessons short, with around thirty minutes a day dedicated to this. Some people may believe that because it was only a short period of time to cover phonics the lesson will be very restricted with the children having to take in all the information they are being given by the teacher with no participation. While being on placement I witnessed first hand exactly what happens in the typical Phonics lesson; it would start with ‘Fast phonics first’ where the children would watch a musical animation of the alphabet being sang out with the children engaging and singing along. The lesson then covers what the children had learnt the previous week in a short recap while then covering the new letters. This can be done in many ways. The teacher often puts the new letter on the interactive board and plays magic finger which sees the children watch the letter being drawn in the air with her finger and gets the children to copy this and then write this down on there own individual whiteboards which keeps them involved. This way it allows the children to experience an engaging lesson that they will remember, its also important that the teacher recaps on the letters the following day so that the children will keep the letters in there minds much longer. Over my six weeks I saw that the lessons would get gradually harder which follows what The Primary Framework Literacy (DfES,2006a) plan states. The diagraphs such as consonant diagraphs where two consonants join together to produce a single sound the most popular being â€Å"ch† â€Å"sh† and â€Å"th† Vowel diagraphs can also be used such as â€Å"ai† â€Å"ea† and â€Å"oo† etc by using these as well as CVC words it will help with the children’s understanding and knowledge of reading. A structure is very important when teaching Phonics and in Jim Rose’s independent review of the teaching of early reading many people agree with this. The review itself was conducted during 2005 with Jim Rose publishing his discovery early the following year. He talks about how phonics should be taught at the age of 5 years from foundation until year 2 and beyond. It should be Systematic carefully planned and progressive which fits well to my observations while on placement. It should also be taught discretely daily at a brisk pace with the main point being that children are learning to decode and encode print. The key point from this Rose review however is that â€Å"it is part of a broad, rich curriculum† Meaning it should be used in all areas of teaching the children and not something that is separate. Another scheme would be that of Michael Gove Secretary of state for education who stated â€Å"A solid foundation in reading is crucial to a child’s success as they progress through primary school, into secondary school and then in later life† (Michael Gove 2012) He talks about how expected reading levels of ages 7 and 11 are simply not achieving with the government are looking to raise the standard of reading in the early years of primary school, his idea is that he wants children to read to learn information rather than reading to learn to read. We are determined to raise literacy standards in our schools, especially of those not achieving the expected level – a light-touch phonics-based check will provide reassurance that children in Year 1 have learned this important skill, will enable us to pinpoint those who are struggling at an early age and will give them the help they need before it is too late. (Michael Gove 2012) Systematic Synthetic Phonics is an extr emely valuable program that works effectively within the reading and writing of children’s lives however It should be used alongside other strategies such as analytical I briefly mentioned earlier this is because every child is different and just because something works well for one child doesn’t always mean it’s the same for every child. With other strategies it will help every child no matter what the ability maybe. By using more than one program, most topics will be covered that suit the child. â€Å"Phonic knowledge can be taught in many ways† (DfES,2006a). Word Count – 1490 How to cite How Does Phonics Develop Early Reading?, Essay examples

What is involved in pilgrimage Essay Example

What is involved in pilgrimage Essay What is involved in pilgrimage? Illustrate the differing approaches to pilgrimage by referring to 2 or more places of pilgrimage.The word Pilgrimage means the journey to a holy place. Pilgrimages are found in all of the religions in the world. Islams go to Makkah, Hindus go to Benares on the River Gange, Buddhas go to Bodhgaya, Sikhs go to Amritsar and Jews and Christians go to Jerusalem. There are many different reasons people go on Pilgrimage. Some people go to feel the holiness of a place. Some go to come closer to God or to seek his forgiveness. Others go to show their devotion to God, it is a commitment in their Religion. Another reason they go is to seek Gods help. This could be in a physical way, a healing or cure from a disease, or in a more spiritual way.Pilgrimage is not a new idea. In Genesis 47:9 it saysAnd Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.One of the main places of Christian pilgrimage is Lourdes. In February 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, the sickly daughter of a poor miller was collecting fire wood with her sister and a friend near a cave called Massabielle, on the outskirts Lourdes, which was then a small unknown French Pyrenean town.Bernadettes sister and her friend crossed the nearby stream to pick up more wood, but Bernadette stayed on the side of the grotto, afraid she may catch a chill from crossing through the cold water. While the others were gone, Bernadette prayed the Rosary and saw the first of 18 apparitions of Mary, Christs mother. In one of these visions she told Bernadette to drink at the spring Bernadette scrapped at the ground where the lady pointed and unearthed the spring which people the world over now come to bathe in, in the hope that their faith in God will bring them healing from the ailments which aff lict them.Lourdes is a huge Pilgrimage base. Over 2 million people visit it a year. During the pilgrimage many different events take place. There are special masses, candlelight processions in the dark and many different youth activities. There is a special Lourdes hymn that is sung during all of these. The main attraction to Lourdes is the healing springs. Millions of people bathe in these springs each year. These waters have special healing powers and thousands of healings have taken place. These can range from physical healings, healing broken bones and disabilities, to spiritual healings, strengthening peoples faith in God. Lots of people bottle the water and take it home for those who couldnt make the pilgrimage. Pilgrims can also visit the Grotto. This is where Bernadette had her visions. Here people experience a feeling of peacefulness and calm. Gods presence is very strong here. Another special event at Lourdes is the Baths. Here pilgrims where special robes and bathe in hol y water. When they are finished they get out and without drying they get into their clothes.Another place for Roman Catholic pilgrimage is Rome. Rome is the centre of the Roman Catholic Church. Millions of Catholics visit here each year. There were 7 pilgrim churches founded when the Roman Empire became Christian and there is a pilgrimage travelling the route to these churches. The Emperor Constantine built St Peters church which contains the tomb of St Peter and the church of St Paul over St Pauls tomb. There are pilgrimages to these as well. Many Catholics also visit Rome because it is where the Pope LIVES. The current Pope gives a mass every Easter and Christmas. This is extremely popular and lots of Catholics attend.AO2Explain the part pilgrimage plays in the religious life of Christians. In your answer include reference to the pilgrimages you have mentioned above.The idea of a special journey is not a new idea. The first pilgrimages would have been people climbing to the top of hills to be closer to God, or their Gods back then. In Judaism one of the great spiritual discoveries is that we are all pilgrims, strangers seeking God. The idea of Pilgrimage goes back to the beginning of Christianity as well. The Disciples all followed Jesus to get closer to him and God.There are many different reasons why people go on pilgrimages. One reason is that they fell a requirement to because of their Religion. All Muslims must travel to Mecca once in their life. Sometimes people save up for decades so that they can afford to go. For these Pilgrims their Pilgrimage is a religious accomplishment. It is one of the five pillars of Islam; it is something they have to do in their life.Another reason some people go on Pilgrimage is to learn more about their faith or to visit places in the bible. A visit to Rome or to the Holy Land gives a person greater awareness of their faith and its history which in turn helps their faith and understanding. They can do it to see places in Jesus life, helping them understand his life better. Seeing the places where certain bible events happened may help them understand it better.Some people go on pilgrimage for a healing. This can be physical or spiritual. The main place they would go for this is Lourdes due to the huge amount of recorded healings. People would go on this Pilgrimage so they could bathe in the special waters Bernadette uncovered.Other people go on Pilgrimages to get closer to God. They may have a damaged or inexistent religious life and they feel a need to mend it. They would go to try to discover God for themselves, get closer and deepen their relationship. People who have bathed in the waters at Lourdes have also experienced religious healings rather than physical ones. People have gone hoping for physical healings and havent got them, but have claimed they can accept their illness now. This is what deepening their relationship with God is.Some people go on Pilgrimages as a devotion to a religious pe rson or a Saint. Some people feel a particular devotion to Mary if they feel she has helped them in their life. These people may travel to Lourdes as a devotion to her.A different reason why people go on Pilgrimage is as penance. If they feel they have been particularly bad or done a really awful sin they will go on Pilgrimage as a penance to God, begging for forgiveness. This happened a lot in ancient times, where people would go on long, treacherous journeys so that they would be forgiven of their sins.Praying for a certain person is another reason to go on Pilgrimage. If someone close to them is very ill or has a big life changing decision ahead of them then they may go on pilgrimage to pray for them.Some Christians believe that their whole life is a pilgrimage that is leading them towards God. They believe their experiences are teaching them about God and helping them to become closer to Him.AO3Places of pilgrimage tend to be very commercialised these days. This is bound to redu ce the value of the pilgrimage for Christians. Do you agree? Give reasons showing you have considered more than one point of view.Nowadays places of Pilgrimage tend to be very commercialised. If you search for Lourdes on the internet then you get hundreds of hotels giving you the best deal. Shops are all offering to sell you official Lourdes merchandise. You can but ashtrays, pens, and lighters, anything inscribed with Lourdes. There are hundreds of different coaches offering to take you on wonderful tours of the place. There are shops, bars, and cafes all hoping to squeeze every last penny out of the Pilgrims. This isnt just Lourdes though, this can be said for Jerusalem, Rome and any other Pilgrimage base. Does all this commercialisation take away the effect of the place for Christians?A lot of Christians would say that the commercialisation does take away the effect of the place. They would say that a lot of money is being made at the expense of religion, and this is wrong. Becau se these places are commercialised, they often attract tourists and noise is created. This noise distracts people and takes the emphasis of the place they are in away from them. It also takes the emphasis of religion away. This commercialisation has turned religious Pilgrimage bases into normal holiday resorts. A Pilgrim who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land said this of bathing in the Dead Sea, a unique experience indeed as was advertised on the notice, but spoiled a bit for me by the large numbers of tourists.But some Christians would disagree with this. If it werent for commercialisation, pilgrimage would still be at its medieval stage and pilgrims would travel on horseback for months on end to cross the borders into far away cities. Nowadays, the ancient style of pilgrimage is just seen as inconvenient. Travelling and accommodation today is now all commercialised and this wouldnt exist if it werent for it. In ancient times, the pilgrimage was a dangerous journey, but nowaday s the biggest risk is the possibility of getting slight jet lag. To stay in a comfortable hotel and to fly to a pilgrimage site is a more luxurious experience, making you more relaxed, putting you in a happier state of mind. If you feel happier then this will bring you closer to God. Buying a souvenir of your pilgrimage is also something many people wish to do. They like to have something they can look at and it reminds them of the place and their journey. Surely this cannot be a bad thing.I believe that commercialisation is not a bad thing. It makes the whole process easier and more convenient for all Pilgrims. It is nice for them to be comfortable when they are at their pilgrimage in a nice hotel. It is good that they can relax in the restaurants and cafes. There is a point where commercialisation goes a bit too far though. When there are stalls set up along pilgrimage paths selling lighters and ashtrays inscribed with the name it is not good. It is nice to have a small souvenir b ut when the name is put on any cheap rubbish it is wrong.

The First Reconstruction A Revolution Essay Example

The First Reconstruction A Revolution Essay Example The First Reconstruction A Revolution Essay The First Reconstruction A Revolution Essay Many people will argue that the social and political changes in the period between 1860 and 1877 culminated in a revolution.This time period, known as the First Reconstruction, made many advances in equality for Blacks in voting, politics, and the use of public facilities.The lawmakers of the time were however unable to make adequate progress in advancing economic equality; therefore Blacks didnt completely escape their original plight.This should not be considered a revolution because its results were quickly reversed when former confederate leaders and other bigots reclaimed the power of legislation in the South. The First Reconstruction was a result of the Civil War and lasted until 1977.The political, social, and economic conditions after the war helped define the goals of lawmakers during the Reconstruction.Congress now had to decide on how they were going to address such topics as; Black equality, rebuilding of the South, admission of southern state to the Union, and decidin g who would control the government.In the south the newly freed slaves wandered the countryside and the white population was devastated due to their loss in the recent war.The south was also devastated economically; plantations were destroyed, railroads torn up, their labor force gone, and cities were burned. In the post Civil War era there was a struggle for the power, each with their own ideas on how the country should go about in the reconstruction process.First, the Southern Democrats, a party made up of former Confederate leaders and other members of the aristocracy, strived to end the perceived control of the North over the South.They also sought the reinstitution of slavery under a different name, Black Codes.These codes would provide a cheap labor force to the plantations by limiting the rights of Blacks to move, vote, travel, and change jobs.Second, Moderate Republicans wanted to obtain a policy of reconciliation bet

Complete Guide Writing a Strong Letter of Recommendation

Complete Guide Writing a Strong Letter of Recommendation SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips As an English teacher and college counselor working with high school students, I've had the privilege and responsibility of writing letters of recommendation. Starting out, I had a strong urge to help, but no clear sense of what exactly should go into a reference letter. If they all speak to students' impressive qualities and accomplishments, what makes some letters stand out among the rest? To answer this question, I researched recommendation letters from both sides of the college process, drawing on the advice of high school counselors and teachers and the perspective of college admissions officers. I also read dozens of recommendation letters, from the ones that admissions committees loved to the ones that were cast aside as mediocre, useless, or straight up negative about a student. This article compiles the most important lessons I learned through this research and my own work supporting students through the college process. Read on for a discussion ofwhat exactly needs to go into the kind of rec letter that effectively advocates for a student and boosts her admissions chances. First, let's take a deeper look at what purpose recommendation letters serve when they arrive before an admissions committee. The Goal: What's the Purpose of Letters of Recommendation? Admissions officers put a lot of weight on recommendation letters. Especially in selective admissions, when thousands of qualified students are competing for a limited number of spots, reference letters can go a long way toward differentiating one student from another. According to Harvard dean of admissions William Fitzsimmons, recommendation letters are "extremely important" and are read "with great care" (often projected onto large screens in front of the whole committee!). So what are all these carefully reading admissions officers looking for? Two main features. The first is an insightful, in-depth story of the student that reveals both her academic skills and personal qualities. As a teacher, you're in a great position to comment on a student's intellectual curiosity, creativity, and attitude towards learning. Additionally, you can speak to a student's admirable personal qualities, like her sense of integrity, compassion, and leadership skills, to name a few. This in-depth look gives an admissions committee a holistic view of your student beyond the grades and clubs listed on their application. It helps the student come to life. The second main feature that admissions committees typically look for is a student's potential to contribute positively to the college community, as well as to succeed after graduation. In your recommendation, you can state your confidence about a student's success on campus and future achievement. Certain qualities are especially impressive to admissions officers and hint at success in college, though this might vary somewhat by individual. Some of these qualities include love of learning, academic commitment, communication skills, commitment to mastery of a specific skill or area, and leadership capacity. Since these personal qualities may not be apparent on the rest of the application (apart from the student's own personal essay), the letters of recommendation can go a long way toward describing a student's best traits. Plus, they show that a student has teachers who are motivated to advocate for her. Of course, hopefully no one would agree to recommend a student and then write bad, sabotaging things in the recommendation letter. It's generally safe to assume that all recommenders want to support students in continuing their education. But mediocre letters can often be just as bad as ones that are outright critical, and merely "good letters" pale in comparison to excellent ones. So what must go into a letter of recommendation to make it particularly strong and effective? How to Write a Strong Letter of Recommendation The strongest letters of recommendation take time and thought to craft. They're individualized to each student and are thoughtfully revised for word choice and flow of ideas. First and foremost, what content is essential for a strong letter of recommendation? Include Key Content Perhaps the best way to describe what a letter of rec should include is to start out by describing what it shouldn't include. A rec letter should not simply be a restatement of a student's grades, clubs, and awards. All of these facts and figures should already be stated on the student's application. The most ineffective rec letters just repeat a student's resume. Admissions officers are hoping for deep insights into a student's character, rather than a list of data points that could apply to any number of students. This is not to say that recommenders shouldn't mention what a student has achieved or been involved in, but they shouldn't feel compelled to list every single accomplishment. Instead, writers can point to a specific involvement or story that demonstrates something meaningful about the student. For instance, you might be writing about Michael, whose powerful commitment to equality and education led him to establish a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school. In this way, you're discussing something a student has done to illuminate something significant and admirable about his character and motivations. Speaking about his establishment of the GSA is more illustrative than simply stating that he's committed to equality and social justice. So if reiterating the student's grades and activities (ie, resume points) shouldn't go into the rec letter, what should? MIT offers an insightful breakdown of the questions its admissions officers would like answers to in a letter. These questions are a useful guide for recommenders writing to any college. What is the context of your relationship with the applicant? Has the student demonstrated a willingness to take intellectual risks and go beyond the normal classroom experience? Does the applicant have any unusual competence, talent, or leadership abilities? What motivates this person? What excites him/her? How does the applicant interact with teachers? With peers? Describe his/her personality and social skills. What will you remember most about this person? Has the applicant ever experienced disappointment or failure? If so, how did he/she react? Are there any unusual family or community circumstances of which we should be aware? Source: MIT Admissions A recommender doesn't necessarily have to answer all of these questions, but they're great starting points for brainstorming. They shift the focus from what a student does to what a student is like, in terms of her intellectual curiosity, specific skills or talents, passions, and personality. Some other impressive qualities include communication skills, resourcefulness, and innovative problem-solving. Admissions committees often also look for demonstrated leadership and the ability to collaborate with others in an interactive and diverse environment. Beyond these personal qualities, letter writers might speak to unusual circumstances or challenges that the student has faced or survived. These can be especially meaningful to explain a dip in academic performance or to show how a student has overcome hardship. I would advise getting the student's permission before including personal family information, just to make sure she's comfortable with you sharing it. Finally, a recommender may want to demonstrate her own familiarity with the school to which the student is applying. If the school is particularly competitive, then you might express your confidence in the student's ability to thrive in an academically rigorous environment. If you're an alum of the school, then you can believably assert your confidence that the student would be a strong cultural fit. The strongest recommendation letters give insight into a student's intellectual orientation, motivations, and personal qualities. As a writer, how can you rave about your student in a sincere, genuine, and convincing way? One of the best ways to accomplish this is to focus your recommendation on the student's best assets. Highlight your student's most important strengths. Highlight the Most Important Themes Just as you don't have to feel compelled to repeat every grade, club, and award on the student's resume, you also don't have to speak about every quality that makes the student great. In fact, well-rounded students aren't necessarily what the most competitive schools are looking for. While selective schools look for academic excellence in most subjects, what they really appreciate is a student's singular commitment to a specific and distinct area. Developing a "big spike" in a certain area shows passion, dedication, and the ability to sustain long-term focus. As PrepScholar co-founder and Harvard alum Allen Cheng writes, top colleges are looking for students who are going to change the world. They're expecting deep achievement, and the best predictor of that is deep achievement in high school. Therefore admissions committees are especially impressed by a "huge spike" in science, writing, athletics, or whatever your commitment might be. Of course, not all or even the majority of students are applying to Ivy League schools, but the takeaway message still applies. Recommendation letters don't have to present the student as well-rounded and good at everything they do. Instead, they can paint a specific picture and highlight the qualities that are most important to understanding who the student is and what drives her actions. Some letters may highlight that a student is a top scholar, while others may speak to a student's leadership skills. Some may focus in on the student's passion for volunteer work, or her talent in acting, art, music, or athletics. For students with extensive international experience, recommenders may rave about their multicultural, global perspective or unusual maturity and sophistication. Other students may have had to overcome hardships in their life, and the recommender could speak to their resilience and strength as a survivor. As mentioned above, I would suggest discussing this kind of content with the student to make sure she's comfortable sharing it with admissions commitees.All in all, a recommender can brainstorm a list of the student's best assets (with the aid of the student's resume and "brag sheet"), and zero in on the most important themes. What if the student hasn't demonstrated interest in a particular area, but you're excited to see her further explore her interests in college? In this case, you could write earnestly about the student's room to grow and the potential you see in her. At the same time, be careful with this kind of wording, as it may suggest different things to different admissions officers. If you really feel not able or qualified to provide the student with a recommendation that will help her admission chances, then you shouldrespectfully decline or suggest someone else better able to write her letter. Once you've chosen the most important themes to highlight about a student, you can think about specific stories, experiences, or observations that demonstrate those strengths. The best recommendation letters "show," rather than just "tell." Bring your letter to life with meaningful stories and examples. Give Specific Examples Which sentence paints a better picture in the mind of the reader? a) Kate is a strong writer. b) Due to Kate's superlative writing and analytical skills, I'll be using her year-long thesis on representations of gender inJane Eyre as an example of the highest quality work to students in my future AP English classes. The second uses more powerful words, but more importantly it gives a specific example, thereby proving that Kate has strong writing skills. It explains the grounds on which the teacher draws her conclusion that Kate is a good writer. It additionally suggests that Kate can sustain focus in a long-term project and impressed the teacher so much that her thesis became a model for future students. The best recommendation letters support their praise of a student with specific anecdotes and observations. These stories accomplish a few things. One, they support the writer's claims. Rather than just listing adjectives, the writer backs up her description with examples. Secondly, they make the letter more interesting and help the student come to life in the eyes of admissions officers. Officers may be up all night reading through applications. The last thing they want is a generic, boring recommendation letter that blends into all the others. Interesting stories make both the letter and the student pop. Finally, the use of specific stories proves that the recommender is, in fact, qualified to assess the student. The best letters come from teachers who know a student well. Sharing anecdotes and observations prove that you've gotten to know the student thoroughly and your evaluation of her is trustworthy and reliable. In addition to sharing examples, you should take the time to be intentional with your word choice. Consider which phrases and adjectives will present the clearest and strongest endorsement of the student. Dance, words, dance! Use Powerful Words As with any piece of writing, the best recommendation letters are eloquent, clear, and don't fall into the trap of cliches. Calling someone a go-getter with a heart of gold who leaves no stone unturned and is a friend to all may elicit a yawn or eye roll from the admissions officer. Often finding just the right word happens in the revision stage. Check if you wrote interesting when creative or innovative would work better. Keep an eye out for nice when you meant to dive into a student's unique empathy or compassion for others. Perhaps you wrote hard worker when intellectual risk-taker would more accurately describe the student. Some words and phrases that can be used to described a student's academic strengths includeinsightful, analytical, curious, observant, innovative, or mastery of a specific subject area.Others that fall more in the arena of personal and professional strengths includemature, flexible, generous, empathetic, leader, versatile, ethical, motivated, ambitious, resourceful, and strong communication skills. Admissions officers have read hundreds, if not thousands, of recommendation letters, and they're used to reading between the lines. Be intentional with your wording so you don't accidentally communicate something negative about the student. For instance, a phrase like "leads by example" or "excels at working independently" could indicate that the student keeps to herself and has trouble working with others. While it's more important to be authentic and not worry too much about what an admissions officer may or may not think, this mindset can help you be purposeful with what you say and how you say it in your letter. You can also keep an eye out for sounding over the top with your phrase. While the best letters rave about their students, they have the examples to back up their praise. Simply listing superlative adjectives could come off as overblown and insincere. A second technique that may impress admissions officers is the use of a high ranking. Rank the Student Highly, When Appropriate Consider these ranking statements: Carla is the most talented and driven math student I have taught in my twenty years at High School High. James is one of the top three students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. An impressive ranking, like the two above, certainly communicates a strong vote of confidence in a student, especially if it comes from a teacher with hundreds of students to compare her recommendee to. If your student is applying to a selective or Ivy League school, then a powerful ranking can go a long way toward testifying to a student's outstanding achievement and qualities. On the other hand, a ranking like "above average" or "relatively strong effort compared to her peers" may do more harm than good. If you can genuinely provide a statement of high ranking, then you can help the student by including it. If not, then it's probably advisable to leave that kind of statement out of your letter. Apart from a statement of ranking, there are a few other key components to include in your letter of recommendation. While you can be creative and customize your letters to each student, there are a few essential pieces of information that you should include in all your letters. Include all essential elements. State All Essential Information There are a few necessary pieces of information to include in all recommendation letters that I touched on briefly at the beginning of this article. The first is an explicit statement of who you're recommending. If you can customize your letter for each college, all the better. Second, you should state who you are, your position at the school, and the contexts in which you've gotten to know the applicant. If you've gotten to know the student both in class for a year and as editor of the school newspaper, then this shows you've taught and supervised her in different contexts and are especially qualified to evaluate her. Admissions officers usually prefer recommendations from junior year teachers, as they had the student recently and for a whole year. A senior year teacher probably doesn't know the student very well yet, and sophomore and freshman year was too far in the past. Exceptions to this general rule include having the student for more than one year or supervising her in other capacities, like clubs or sports. You can begin the letter with a creative or catchy hook, or a more straightforward statement of endorsement, as long as you include these key components in the introduction. Here are a few examples. It is my great pleasure to provide this recommendation for Kate, who I enjoyed teaching and getting to know as her th grade AP U.S. History teacher. I have known Joe since 2012 in my position as Lincoln High School's Biology teacher. I am delighted to write this recommendation for Rosa, whom I have known for two years as her Psychology teacher and academic advisor. Please accept this letter as my enthusiastic endorsement of Chris, the top student in my th grade AP Chemistry class. After introducing the student, your relationship with her, and your statement of recommendation, you can go on to provide your evaluation, while keeping in mind the above mentioned suggestions, like focusing on important themes and using specific stories, powerful language, and a statement of ranking. If you want to balance out your recommendation by presenting a weakness, I would suggest doing so in a mild way, perhaps with an explanation of how that weakness could be turned into a strength. In your letter's conclusion, it's a good idea to restate your support for the student, while also talking about how you envision the student being successful at college. Admissions officers want to build a strong, dynamic, and diverse class with a range of abilities and interests. By attesting to the student's potential for future success and contributions at campus, you can reassure admissions officers that she is a student they want at their school. Finally, you can conclude your letter with your contact information and an invitation to call or email you with any further questions. Use an official letterhead, and welcome them to get in touch for any further discussion of the student. To sum up, let's go over the do's and don't's of writing recommendation letters for students applying to college. Key Points to Remember Do: Include key content, like who you're recommending, who you are, how you know the student, and what makes you qualified to evaluate her. Be enthusiastic in your recommendation, discussing both a student's academic ability and potential and her character and personality. Highlight a few key qualities that you think are essential for admissions officers to understand who the student is and what she can accomplish. Use specific stories, examples, and anecdotes to support your evaluation. Be intentional in your word choice, making sure to powerful words and phrases and to avoid cliches. Provide a high and impressive ranking, when applicable. Conclude with a strong statement of support, vision of the student's future success, and invitation to the admissions committee to follow up with you if need be. Don't: Simply repeat resume points or quantitative data that are already listed on other parts of the application. Cast too wide a net and end up saying very little, because you tried to say too much. List adjectives without having examples to back them up. Use generic, bland, unenthusiastic language or cliche statements. Use similar letters for more than one student, especially if the students are applying to the same schools (the same admissions officers will see this!) Agree to provide a letter of recommendation unless you can honestly recommend a student. Finally, not all students develop strong connections with their teachers, perhaps because they have trouble participating in class or their school has a large teacher to student ratio. To help you write your recommendation, students may provide a "brag sheet," where they talk about their goals and what's important to them, as well as a resume. If you need more information or time to talk to the student, it can help to meet with her and have a conversation or two. I always found the easiest letters to write were for students who were open and eager to share their plans and personality. If you feel you haven't gotten to know a student as well as you need to to write a compelling and insightful letter, then it may help to elicit her thoughts and feelings, as well as make time to get to know her better. As long as you have the raw materials, in terms of a good relationship, stories, and observations, then you can use these suggestions and examples to craft a thoughtful, customized letter of recommendation that will help her get into college. As you write, remember your mission: to differentiate the student as a unique and impressive candidate, to shed light on both her intellectual and personal qualities, and to give admissions officers a holistic view of the person that will show up on campus in next year's class. What's Next? One of the most helpful resources for me as I wrote recommendation letters for students were examples of great and bad letters. Check back soon for our articles with great letters, bad letters, and a suggested recommendation letter template. While recommendation letters are important for all schools, they must be especially outstanding to help a student get into the Ivy League. Check out our complete guide to Harvard recommendation letters (coming soon). Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: