What qualities to emphasize in a non-science LOR?

[rekrul]

I took an econ class a few years back and have asked my professor for a LOR. She told me to give her a list of bullet points that I believe fairly describe me and what I achieved in her class, and that would sound reasonable coming from her. She also told me to not be modest, haha.

This class was essay and discussion focused, more of a history/philosophy class than anything. It was basically me and 1 other dude that always kept the discussions alive since the rest of the class were zombies who just wanted the credits. I'm for sure going to list inquisitiveness and critical reasoning, but what else can I realistically add? What do adcoms look for in these academic, non-science LORs? I felt I did at least 3SDs above the mean in this class wrt to the essays and discussions, so I could reasonably advocate for myself quite strongly, but getting some direction of what the overall theme of this LOR should be would be very helpful.

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[Holmwood]

Capacity for optimism/humor in a bleak environment.
Good communication skills.

It's all I got for now.
I would also look into what specifically you contributed to the class. What insight did you give to the class discussions?

As to what to look for, see the list of qualities in the following document and try to fit your class experience with some of them: http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cnsm/...gandSubmittingLettersofRecommendation_000.pdf


Remember that it's not just about class discussion. You can also give her a draft of your personal statement, your resume, and perhaps have a conversation with her about these things. That would give her more information about you, and lead to a stronger letter.

No letter is better than a bad/shallow letter. Unless it's for a prerequisite! Others may disagree.

Some schools also prefer that you waive your right to see the letter as well.

 

[rekrul]

^^Thanks, this is helpful. I tried giving this lady my whole submitted AMCAS printout but she resolutely refused to take it. I suppose her stance is that I'm worthy of being commended, but that I should do the bulk of the groundwork of actually coming up with things to be commended on. People are busy so I don't blame her.

Also, just to clarify in case there is any confusion, I'm not actually drafting the letter, merely providing a bulleted outline around which the professor will write a fully-fledged letter.