Writing LOR for Past Instructor Up For Promo

[grayworm]

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is having a great week!
My question concerns writing a LOR for an instructor I had while in undergrad. He is a lecturer in the humanities, and I took three of his classes (two lower level, one upper level). 

He is up for promotion and asked if I would be willing to write him a LOR, which I of course would be happy to do. 

I'm a grad student now at the same university, but I've never written a LOR under these circumstances, so I was hoping someone could give me some pointers. I figured I'd follow the traditional LOR guidelines (talk about how we know each other, strengths as a teacher, etc.).

In terms of physically handing the letter in, do you typically print such a letter on university letterhead? Or, since I'm just a measly grad student, should I just put it in a blank envelope?

Any other pointers would be much appreciated. 
Thanks so much in advance!  

[TakeruK]

You can ask the instructor on what kind of things you should mention in the letter. You can also find the chair of the Promotions Committee (or whatever they call themselves) and ask what they are looking for. If it's just the Dept Head decision then ask them. You can also find some info online, but be aware that whomever is reading your letter will be looking for different things than a typical promotion LOR since they are specifically looking for a former student's point of view when requesting yours.

Whatever they are looking for (teaching excellence, mentorship of students, rapport, etc.) make sure to provide specific examples. I'd try to highlight things that are unique to your perspective as a former student if possible.

For the letter itself, check whether they want electronic or paper versions. If your school allows its students to use letterhead (I thought most did, but then I learned that some others did not allow it) then you can use it, however, since you're a student at the same school, it doesn't really matter.

[TheScienceHoney]

I recently wrote an LOR for a former professor. Before writing my letter I reviewed my professor's teaching portfolio and CV as well as the job description for the position they were being considered for promotion to. I tried to be pretty specific about what strengths the professor had and how I benefitted from taking their class. I included things that she had mentioned in her portfolio that I had experienced as a student (for example, she had received a grant to study the impact on student performance of 'flipping' the classroom one day a week, so I wrote about what I gained from her flipped classroom project.) I think it's also fair to write critiques of them as well, or point out what they could improve, if you have suggestions, especially if they are relevant to the position that they are applying for. 

The department chair asked me to just email the letter in from my university email account, but you should ask the department chair or dean or whoever is in charge what they would prefer.

[rising_star]

Definitely ask where it should be sent to. Don't just put it in an envelope and hand it to the person it's about. 

Specific examples of what you gained from their classes are helpful. If possible, comment on the types of assignments, the feedback you were given, and how these contributed to your overall learning. If you went to their office hours, talk about their persona there and what you gained from doing so. The more specific, the better. Oh, and don't go over two pages single-spaced (and really, even that's too long).

[grayworm]

This is wonderful -- thank you all so much for the help. I have to turn a physical copy to the office, so I'll ask.