1. Professional Recommendation for Sal Costa
December 20, 2014
I’m happy to write this letter in support of Sal Costa, who was a student in my technical
writing class at Alfred State–SUNY College of Technology during fall semester, 2014. This
upper division course served as both an introduction to the field of technical communication
and an opportunity for students to refine their writing skills within a professional context. In
addition, they worked with desktop publishing software in designing industry-standard
documentation and produced instructional material across multiple media—including
instructional videos and self-running slide shows.
Sal proved himself to be an especially hardworking and committed student. He began the
class with some reservation, having not had the most positive experience with previous
writing or “English” classes. He also had limited experience with the technical specifications
required for some of the major projects. After some initial frustrations, though, Sal set himself
to the tasks at hand with considerable skill and produced impressive documentation that
improved with each new assignment. He also publicly presented to his peers on the topic of a
2500-word technical report he wrote in the course (on military body armor). His presentation,
which he clearly had practiced, was well received, and the corresponding slide show that he
designed to accompany it was visually engaging.
Sal has a good work ethic and is willing to invest time and energy into the projects he takes
on. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information about this promising young
professional.
Kevin Cassell
Assistant Professor of Technical Writing
Department of English and Humanities
SUNY College of Technology, Alfred State
casselkr@alfredstate.edu / (607) 587-3205