Abstract

Analysis of a collection of contemporary recommendation letters for admission to a PhD program in English studies revealed differences in length, level of specificity, and rhetorical appeals that applied much more strongly to candidates' acceptance status than to gender. Across both status and gender groupings, however, candidates were frequently appraised through economic metaphors, indicating a disciplinary culture that dually approaches graduate students as immediate sources of labor and as the future of the profession. Findings from these letters should promote continued conversation about disciplinary culture and clearer guidelines for those writing and requesting recommendation letters.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2009-09-17
DOI
10.1080/07350190903185064
Open Access
Closed

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Rhetoric Review
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Rhetoric Review
  2. Rhetoric Review
  3. Rhetoric Review
Also cites 12 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1007/BF02691910
  2. 10.1017/S0272263100014169
  3. 10.1037/0022-3514.46.3.636
  4. Composition in the University: Historical and Polemical Essays
  5. 10.17763/haer.72.4.0515nr62324n71p1
    Harvard Educational Review  
  6. 10.1006/jsre.1994.1031
  7. 10.1037/h0038080
  8. Academic Writing: Intercultural and Textual Issues
  9. 10.2307/30044645
  10. 10.1016/S0889-4906(97)00012-4
  11. Academic Writing: Intercultural and Textual Issues
  12. 10.1177/0957926503014002277
CrossRef global citation count: 7 View in citation network →