Tips and Examples for Writing Award Nominations - for ME staff and faculty

Below are my suggestions to make writing nomination letters a little easier and faster. Take from this what is useful to you.

These suggestions are the approach I follow to prepare nomination letters for ME faculty and staff (this is known as ghost-writing, where I'm writing on behalf of the nominator). The approach has worked well for me. Some of the information will be common sense for you, but we also often skip the common-sense steps! If you do each of the steps, you'll have an easier time writing the nomination letter.

- Andrea Morris
ME freelance technical & awards writer
morri494@purdue.edu

Contents:

Guidelines and tips for writing a nomination letter

Contents of the letter

Sample letter

Nomination Letter Mad Libs

Guidelines and tips for writing a nomination letter.

Step 1: Gathering info.

1. Set up a conversation/interview with the nominee. Don't skip this step! This is the #1 most important thing you can do to make the rest of the process easier and faster.
   
   We struggle to write nomination letters when we don't know enough about the nominee and his/her accomplishments. Even when we know our colleague well, we don't necessarily have thorough knowledge of their research or work accomplishments, and resumes and CVs provide details but no perspective. It becomes a real struggle to write a nomination letter when you are working with only partial information.
   
   For this reason, I have always begun with researching the nominee through a conversation with him or her. (I think of it as either an informal interview or a formal discussion.) For me, a 15-20 minute conversation is enough for a one-page support letter, and 30-45 minutes provides enough information to write a detailed two-page nomination letter. Your requirements may be different, but that's a good place to start.
   
   During the conversation, you gather background information on the nominee's accomplishments: their goals, outcomes, work styles, and personal characteristics that make them right for the award. All this information helps you form your main argument, a one-sentence explanation for why, from your perspective, they deserve to receive this award.
    
2. Also ask the nominee for his or her CV/resume and other documents they think you might find helpful and are comfortable sharing with you, such as the cover letter they used to apply for their current position.
   
    

Step 2: Prepping for the interview.

1. Briefly scan the nominee's CV or resume. What jumps out at you? A certain award won, a type of work they aim for, service/volunteer work they do? Take note of anything that's interesting to you, as well as their most obvious achievements.
    
2. Briefly review the nomination requirements from the awarding organization and/or the organization's website. Jot down notes of how you might address each of the requirements.
   
   Note: Sometimes requirements are very specific, which can make your job easier — simply address each of the requirements. Often, though, the requirements are very general. In this case, use your best judgement to decide what the nominating committee could be looking for. A search for the organization's mission or vision statement usually points me in a direction. Don't overthink this. Trust your best judgement.
    
3. Brainstorm ideas for your main argument. This is the 1-2 sentence explanation for why you feel the nominee deserves to receive this award.
   
   A good main argument responds to the requirements in the simplest and most direct way possible. It also summarizes the entire letter in a sentence. Your main argument may change after your interview with the nominee, but it helps to go in with an idea.
    
4. Brainstorm options for your 3 supporting arguments. Typically your 1 main argument will be backed up by 3 supporting arguments — that is, 3 reasons or ways the nominee deserves the award. 
   
   Your 3 supporting arguments might also change after the interview.
    
5. Write down 3-5 questions to start the interview. The purpose of these prepared questions is to get the discussion going. Try to have at least one question for each of your three supporting arguments. Use "how" questions (see more about that below.)

Step 3: During the interview.

1. Let the interview unfold like a conversation. Follow your curiosity. Ask follow-up questions on what interests you. Dig deeper than the accomplishment itself. For example, you might want to mention that they've previously been recognized with another award. In that case, ask why they feel they were chosen to receive the award.
   
   What, How, and Why questions will give you the best information to work with; they'll give you the specifics you need to support your main argument. for example:
   What specifically did you do?
   How did you do that? (so they can talk about their process)
   Why was doing that important to you?
    
2. Keep the nomination letter in the back of your mind as you follow your curiosity. Remember to ask about all three of your supporting arguments.
    
3. Ask the nominee what they feel they should be recognized for. How would the nominee like the nomination letter framed or argued? (Take this opinion with a grain of salt. We often don't recognize what is most interesting about ourselves. If you prefer to discuss their accomplishments differently, do it!)
    
4. Before you finish the interview, ask the nominee if you missed anything they thought you should know.
    

Step 4: Writing the letter.

1. Outline the letter. Now that you've gathered  background information and details, outline your letter. Think about your 3 supporting arguments and fill in details.
   Keep the outline as detailed or as rough as you prefer. You just need something to get started.
    
2. Next, start writing. Write anything you can as it comes to mind. Just get sentences on paper. They don't have to sound good, and they don't have to flow or work together. Don't think about what the selection committee might be looking for. Don't think about how your letter will be received. Just write honestly about what you know about the nominee.
    
3. Once you hit a wall with writing, move around what you've written to fit into your outline.
    
4. Review what you've written and think about where you need to fill in details. If you've made assertions about the nominee, make sure you've backed them up with details or facts.
   
   Note: If you find that you can't back something up with any of the information you have, you have two options:
   1. Get more information from the nominee. In this case, I usually email the nominee with specific questions, something like, "How did you work with your colleague to create _____? What was the process like? How do you think your collaboration style affected the outcome? What would your colleague say about how you worked on this project?"
   
   2. Or revise your argument so the information you have directly supports it.
    
5. Use precise names and dates (usually found in the CV or resume, or ask the nominee). When you include a smattering of specific details, like proper names, years, or locations, your letter will be more convincing.
    
6. Keep writing, rewriting, rearranging, and editing until it sounds good to you. There's no shortcut for this part, and taking an hour or two (or more!) on this part does not say anything about your writing skills.
    
7. Aim for short, direct, and organized. The writing doesn't need to be elaborate or inventive.
    
8. Ask the nominee for additional information or details, as needed. It's rare that I get every bit of information I need from the interview or the CV/resume. Ask follow-up questions as you write, or save all your questions for the end.
   
    

Step 5: Final steps

1. When your draft is prepared, you may ask the nominee to review it for accuracy. It's frequently acceptable for the nominee to read your letter, but typically you get to make the decision based on whether you feel comfortable with it.
    
2. Paste the text of the letter onto ME letterhead and make sure you've adhered to any length/format requirements.

Contents of the letter

Nomination Letter Mad Libs*

for the body paragraphs containing the supporting arguments

Jane [detailed description of main characteristic or accomplishment here], and she has also [secondary accomplishments or other examples]. This is important because [what problem is this solving]. She consistently works to [    description of personal/wo rk/research values ] because [describe the reasons behind the values]. Her approa ch is to [how he/she views or approaches the work/research]. She [examples of things she did to show her approach in action].

* I don't recommend following this template exactly, but you can see how you are starting with one of your supporting arguments (eg, "Jane is a leader who..."), then backing it up with examples of her work and her approach, and examples/descriptions of how she's done it.)