发了一篇陆谷孙先生推荐信点评后，得罪了陆老部分学生，实非本意，在此表示歉意。不过我仍觉得，陆老是辞典专家，写东西与人不同，不必效仿。点评无非是想激发其他学习者多独立思考，不盲从权威。

 

好东西往往都是一改再改而成。而今大家都忙，写东西谁都有错误。我自己写稿，总觉得改不完，最后出于期限等考虑，强迫自己交稿。若有人纠正，在我看来再正常不过。只希望这样的交流，能被平常对待，能正常进行而不伤感情。

 

波士顿一位多年好友陈力超博士看到我的点评文后，请我帮看他刚写的推荐信有无毛病。陈博士我已接触多年，其英文极佳，但总是如此谦虚。此信是我理想中的推荐信函，简明扼要，事例具体，突出被推荐人，而非喧宾夺主。在推荐信风格上，我和不少师长都相信，写东西也要大道至简。此信就体现了这种风格。

 

征得陈博士同意，将信在此刊发。若有更好的建议，欢迎留言告知。

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

It is my great pleasure to write a reference letter for Kathy.

此处如果是我写，我会加一句自己和被推荐人是什么工作关系，相处多久，以便让对方知道为什么要看这推荐信，写信人有无资格评估被推荐人。这里陆老先生信中有所提到，是陆信值得肯定的地方。

 

Kathy started to work with us in May 2016. She quickly proved herself a quick learner, a passionate teacher, and a well-liked team player. Whatever tasks she took, be it tutoring an academically challenged student or taking care of a group of children in our summer camp, she always rose to the occasion and not once disappointed us. 

这里是个人“目测”的对方品质，其中简要地介绍被推荐人做过的项目。

 

Among many glowing commendations about Kathy we received from students, teachers, and parents, a constant refrain is her kindness. She delivered medicine in the middle of the night to a student who was ill. She spent hours of her personal time consulting with rebellious kids.  She never failed to credit her colleagues and the company for her achievement with genuine appreciation. 

用他人的介绍和推荐，佐证被推荐人的品质，且有具体事例，如同研究中的triangulation, 多种证据说明问题，不限于一家之言。

 

It is unfortunate that Kathy had to leave BostonWise due to U.S. visa restrictions. While preparing her return to China, she worked as a coordinator for our high school student exchange program with tremendous success. She also made detailed plans to ensure a smooth transition after her departure. 

这里描述对方离职是因签证问题，而非工作不称职，或是同事关系不好。推荐人甚至介绍，被推荐人在离开决定之后，仍尽心尽力帮助公司平稳过渡，更显出个人品质。这些细节，体贴入微地预见并回答了看信人可能的疑问：“这人这么好，怎么还离开你这里了？”这些是show出来的，不是tell出来的，着墨不多，但有益于对方未来的工作申请。

 

I am confident that she will be a great asset to your team, as she was for ours.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

作者介绍：

上述推荐信作者为陈力超 博士，美国博睿(BostonWise)公司（详见文末链接）创始人，董事长, 哈佛大学医学院 (Harvard Medical School) 前讲师，美中医学交流协会（ACMES）执委会委员, 美国独立教育顾问协会（IECA）会员， 美国寄宿学校联盟（TABS）成员，麻州教育局联盟国际事业部总监，石山学院大中华事业部总监。