#help

I had a quick question on the referential term "those" used in the stimulus.

The stimulus stated that "a recent poll showed that almost half the cities residents believe that Walker is guilty of an ethics violation." The paradox in the stimulus being that even still, "52% of those surveyed judged Walker's perforamnce as mayor to be "good" or "excellent."

I am confused as to exactly which group "those surveyed" about his performance was refering to.

In my mind "those surveyed" referred back to that half of the cities residents just polled about his ethics.

If a survey goes out and almost half believe him guilty of an ethics violation and yet 52% of those polled still believe he's doing great then that is a paradox indeed. Why would people who believe him guilty of a ethics violation still rate him highly.

But given the fact that the correct answer was A - which does not satisfy the paradox I as I understood it above, I not understand we should instead to take "those surveyed" to mean the general residents of the city and which could but don't necissarily overlap with those from the first poll.

My question is if there's an easier more difinitve way to know exactly who they are referring to since the sentence did not say in a "second survey" or in an additional "poll" into Walker's popularity found that 52%... etc. etc. are poll and survey not allowed to be used synonymously? etc.

I understand that the correct answer hinges upon the fact that the two survey responses must be pulling from different populations and I can see how thats hinted at but I guess the language of "those surveyed" after referring to a "recent poll" was a bit confusing.#help#help

Also, I would totally ask the Harvard professor to not only recommend you more generally, but to write a more specific one for Harvard. I'd communicate that its a dream school (if thats the case for you) and ask her to write a letter for it especially because you feel that a personal letter from the perspective of an alumni who knows the program personally and can attest to your professional / academic ability to succeed in that very program would be especially powerful.

I'll include my more general rec template that I made below in case its useful for you!

General greeting

-hope this finds you well etc.

I reintroduced myself

-I had your X course in the fall of X year)

Brief Life update / where you are now

-Since your class I have graduated cum laude from X university in X year and as of now I am studying for the LSAT in order to apply to law school by X date.

-you can even have a sentence explaining why law school

like "As a poli/sci major law school was always the natural next step in my dream to become an international attorney etc. etc.) or explaining why you've pivoted from your college major field of study to pursue law (whichever one is applicable to your story) I was a psych major so I had a brief sentence in mine to clarify to my psych or humanities professors why I want this to be the next step not just in my career but life.

Official ask

-I am writing to see if you would be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for my early decision applications to law school

(if you're sending this to Harvard prof I would modify this to say "applications to Harvard as well as other schools).

Remembering their class/ Why them for the request

-The knowledge I gained in your course has served me well beyond my time in college and has....etc. etc.

-I've never felt so seen by a professor etc. etc.

-Here is where I would make the specific note to the Harvard professor that "in addition to your being abet to attest to my performance in the classroom, being a Harvard alumni I feel you're especially equipped to recommend me etc. etc.

Conclusion, Thanks, Request for info, and Follow Up

-I want to express my sincere thanks for the way your course impacted me etc.

in the case that you're able to write me a letter, I would be happy to set up a time to meet (over zoom or coffee etc.) to discuss my application or answer any questions you may have.

additionally, please let me know if you require any more additional information to write my letter including a resume or attached past assignments with feedback etc.

I wouldn't attach feedback assignments and resumes immediately I'd ask them what they need from me and send them all of that in a follow up email but its just personal preference at that point.

thanks for your consideration/time etc. etc.

Tip: don't focus too much on details like length it can be longer or shorter, you're writing a letter and what matters most is that its concise and from the heart. My stepmom is a professor and they get a lot of these from students! and just a lot of emails in general! so you def don't want to bog them down with unnecessary fluff but you want these people to remember you and recommend you highly so your email should feel like its coming from you not from a generic template or from the web. As long as you just make a sincere and respectful ask you can't go wrong!

I know this whole process to apply is so overwhelming and stressful so don't let this add to your anxiety this is one of the easiest most laid back parts of the application. These people want to rave about you and all you have to do is ask so don't overthink it.

Hi! Fellow transfer here (thats also applying in the same cycle).

I don't think you're looking too far ahead at all. Professors should have at least 2 - 4 weeks notice for rec letters just to give them ample time to get them done. There's no reason (that I know of) that would make it so you shouldn't send out your requests in the next two weeks or so.

To your point about the gap between graduating and asking, don't be anxious. If you made a good impression in class / were close enough with them that you feel they would have written you a letter of rec had you asked last year then I think it is highly likely they will still write you one now! Professors know that students don't always immediately jump into grad programs and will continue to rely on them for rec letters for said programs well after graduation.

Also, I think the answer to the one you posed regarding the ideal length for a request email is, well, it depends! When I wrote my rec l letter emails I wrote them in google docs and they were each over a page long single spaced. Now most people (myself included) would absolutely hate receiving any email of that length, but given that my professors know me I doubt they were shocked since I talk about as much in person. That being said, I agree with everyone else here that being concise matters. In my opinion, it's quality over quantity all the way when it comes to rec letter requests. If it only takes a paragraph or a few sentences to communicate your need that I wouldn't add more words just for the sake of adding fluff you don't have a word count to reach. Mine were longer but not for no reason. I took the time to really think about and explain why THEY were one of the only professors I would want to write my rec letters and point out genuine personal takeaways from the course or just from knowing them that I felt had a profound impact on me