其次，主动给推荐人提供自己的详细信息，争取在推荐人着手写推荐信之前和推荐人详谈一次，哪怕只有10分钟，主要谈谈自己的学业成绩和自己的目标，申请专业和方向。同时最好提供一份自己的详细简历，当然，如果你的自述信已经成稿或有草稿的话，可以一并提供。
最后，推荐信与推荐表，很多学校都有固定格式的推荐表，虽然是为了方便推荐人，但实际上却给中国的大部分推荐人带来很多麻烦。如果你一下子申请20所学校，光填表也够教授累的。对于一些特别声明用推荐表的学校，你尽量用推荐表，另外附上推荐信即可。而对于大部分学校，你都可以把自己要填的一部分，即申请方向或/和放弃阅读的权利声明，签上字即可。而只要推荐信中包含推荐表中的内容，就可以直接附上签过字的推荐信即可。
附上一份美国申请信案例供参考
Dear sir/madam:
As a professor of operations management from University of Tulsa, I am writing the recommendation letter with great sincerity to furnish you with what I have known about XX to support of his admission to your university to continue his research on statistics. I will be much delighted if this letter plays the role of assistance of your processing of his application.
XX is now studying at our university, and I taught him the courses of quantitative method 3 -- operation management in his third academic year. Now he is involved with one of my NBA revenue management-related research, he is responsible for the work relating to statistics in this project. He is such a student with a strong logical thinking and is sensitive about figures. He is a student with much interest in mathematical and statistical work. In the process of being involved in the study, he demonstrates a diligent, hard, serious work attitude, as well as rigorous, responsible and objective scientific spirit. He has a solid knowledge of statistical theory, strong statistical computing skills, computer skills, and is able to skillfully use Excel, Minitab, SAS, SPSS and other statistical analysis software. He also has capabilities in collecting data, designing questionnaire and survey data processing. Meanwhile, he masters basic methods in data search, document retrieval and having access to use of modern information technology. His good communication skills help him to maintain a good working relationship with other members of my research team, his scientific research and practical work capabilities enable him to be adequate to the research work. It is what he contributes to this project that makes him a co-author of research paper which will be published in this project. During studies at university, XX is enthusiastic for every specialized course. He adopts a diligent and surefooted attitude and strives for excellence, he answers questions actively in class and brings forward his own ideas, cultivating his own ways of study. With strong abilities in perception and creation, he is especially good at analyzing, thinking and solving difficult problems. He completes each specialized exercise excellently, and in particular, exercises relating to statistics. In the finals, he has obtained excellent scores, and he gained good records and praises of professors in other courses. With strong abilities in writing, reading and communicating, he pays great attention to the improvement of his comprehensive qualities and energetically takes part in social practices. I fully support his idea of graduate study which will certainly facilitate his further development. He has detailed plans and accumulated certain social experience for your program. XX university is world-renowned for high academic level and favorable learning environment. Especially, your higher education institution boasts the wonderful program he applies for, which is rather suitable for him. I believe that he will make brilliant records in future studies.
I will appreciate if you take his application into serious consideration.
Respectfully yours,
XX
