1. December 20, 2014
To whom it may concern:
With unreserved enthusiasm, I strongly recommend Mr. Robert Dean for an entry level or
management trainee position in your firm. He is smart, articulate, intellectually curious, mature,
and personable. Essentially, he would be as talented and capable as any recent entry level or
management trainee hire.
My very favorable opinion of Robert is based on his performance in three of my classes: a
general education course, Introduction to World Politics; International Political Economy (IPE),
an upper-division required course; and the Politics of Globalization, an upper-division seminar.
The upper-division courses, IPE and Globalization, required between 150-200 pages of reading a
week, and, depending on the class, a combination of in-class and take-home analytical essays, 8-
10 page research papers, and book reviews. In each course, from the first week of the semester, it
was clear that Robert had completed the readings before class, and he made frequent, quality
contributions to class discussions, often using the course material as a basis to analyze
contemporary issues that he had read about in outside sources, such as newspaper articles and
news stories. Moreover, his written work, as evinced in his essays and research papers, was solid.
Consequently, he finished in the top 15-20% of his cohort in my upper division courses.
While Robert’s considerable academic achievement in my upper-division courses is impressive,
his maturity is probably his strongest attribute. About four years ago, as a first-year student, fresh
out of high school, Robert enrolled in my World Politics class for the first time, seldom attended
class, and failed. About a year-and-a-half later, he took the class again, excelled in attendance,
and mastered the content of the course. As described above, in IPE and Globalization, he was a
model student in every way. In my nearly fifteen years at Sacramento State, he is the most
improved student that I have ever taught. I realize it is risky to talk about a student’s failure of a
class in a letter of recommendation, but I think it is important to note Robert’s exceptional
response to that situation. In a short time, he went from one of my worst to one of my better
students. In doing so, he impressed me with his considerable maturity and his ability to learn
from his mistakes.
Throughout this past semester, Robert was a pleasure to have in class. His hard work and
willingness to engage with the material enhanced the quality of my classroom, and, frankly,
made my job much easier. I have absolutely no doubt that given his skills and personal qualities

2. that he would similarly enhance the quality of your organization. Consequently, I give him the
highest recommendation possible.
Sincerely,
Patrick Cannon, Ph.D.
Professor
Government Department
Sacramento State University
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6089
pcannon@csus.edu
Patrick G. Cannon