Professor asking me to write my own letter?

[aiikookie]

The professor's very nice and asked me to write my own letter because he doesn't have time to do so(had a teams meeting). Problem is I have no idea how to write a letter about myself. I have never interacted with this professor in class before as it was an asynchronous class but I scored A+ on the class and A+ on the prerequisite to the class. How do i formulate a strong letter if I haven't done anything in the class other than submitting assignments and getting a perfect mark?

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[nefavec]

How do i formulate a strong letter if I haven't done anything in the class other than submitting assignments and getting a perfect mark?

Honestly, I think it would pretty hard to write that strong letter.

Sometimes professors ask you to write your own letters because they don’t know you as well. They might not feel like they could write you as strong of a letter as someone else who knew you better and not just your grades.

Did you attend office hours for one-on-one help from the professor or have some additional interactions with them about your grades/such? If so, talking about these interactions could strengthen your letter. If not, then I would look for a writer who knows you more.

It’s not always about the perfect grades or marks. A professor who saw you struggle and grow in a class and to whom you sought constant help from would probably be a better letter writer than someone who never really knew you. I think the grades are still important, but the growth and perseverance is what can help you stand out in a letter of recommendation. Just my 2¢.

 

[PurpleSails]

I had to write my own recommendation letter draft for some of my professors. It's basically one of those "help me so I can help you" type of situation. For my letter, I talked about how I was as a student, in terms to engaging with other students/taking on leadership roles for groups acitivities/being an active participant in class etc. There must have been a reason why you asked this professor right? So you have some sort of reasons why you believe they would write a good letter for you. Just discuss those reasons. It doesn't have to be more than a page.