Following Up on LOR Request

[butterfingers2010]

I need to follow up on an LOR request, as I e-mailed this professor over two weeks ago and he still has not gotten back to me as to whether he will write it or not. My question is, how do I do this? I know it would be most efficient to call during office hours but I don't want to put him in an awkward spot if he doesn't want to writer the letter (I'm thinking that may be why he never responded to my e-mail?) So what do I say/do? I did very well in this professor's class and thought that I had a good rapport with him. I do have to admit that the thought of talking to him on the phone is a bit intimidating, as he is known to be blunt/not always the "nicest" person to talk to (but as I said, I thought that I personally had a good rapport with him). With this said, is it better to send a follow up e-mail or just suck it up and call? I know I should just stop being a coward because I really need to get this taken care of, but I feel so awkward...

[cunninlynguist]

E-mail again; a phone call may annoy him. You can assume he simply never received it and state "I don't know if you received my prior e-mail, but..."

If there's no response after a couple of weeks and you still feel that he may write you a LOR, you could consider calling. For now, it's still relatively early and very possible that there was an issue with the e-mail or he was occupied with all the fun of a new semester and school year.

[Clay Made]

Having the same issue right now. I emailed a few weeks ago. Thought the same about having a rapport. I simply emailed again asking whether he has had a chance to read my previous email. I will wait until the end of the month to prevent being annoying and allow the semester beginning to slide away.

[runonsentence]

cunninlynguist's tack is a good one ("I don't know if you received my prior e-mail, but..."). It's quite possible that the email slipped his mind, especially if he teaches on the semester system (meaning your email would have come to him during the beginning-of-the-semester crunch).

If he's usually blunt, then I doubt he's waited this long because he's not sure—he'd probably tell you if he didn't want to write for you, right? But if it makes you feel better, again emphasize that you are asking him if he is able to write a strong LOR, and give him an out. "Would you feel comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation? I'd love to have you write for me, but if you're unsure you'd be able to write a letter strongly recommending me I'll start sounding out my other options."