Letters of reference are the dirty work of science—an administrative duty that nobody wants to be bothered with. Yet they are an indisputably important part of being a scientist. In 2000, US universities awarded 25,979 science doctorates, according to a National Science Foundation survey. That translates to 26,000 people looking for 26,000 jobs, each demanding three to five recommendation letters apiece.
In the sciences, reputation is everything, so a letter of reference can be the most potent weapon in the battle for admission to a good program, getting the right job, or getting tenure. "These letters are too important to people's lives and to the functioning of science to take them lightly," says Moses Vijayakumar, a geneticist at Oklahoma State University. "It's important that you know how to do it right."
Letters of reference are encrypted in a bland language that results from trying to be honest without harming someone's ...
