This reference letter is for Gabriella Tavini who is applying to Manchester Metropolitan University for their MA in Creative Writing program. The reference is from her senior lecturer in English Literature, Dr. Carson Bergstrom from University of Salford, where Gabriella completed her undergraduate degree. Dr. Bergstrom highlights that Gabriella achieved high marks in her Shakespeare module and consistently achieved high academic and creative standards throughout her degree. The reference also notes that Gabriella is determined, willing to work hard, and engaged with her studies. Dr. Bergstrom recommends Gabriella unreservedly for the MA in Creative Writing program.

1. School of Arts and Media
AC103 Adelphi Building
Peru Street
Salford
M3 6EQ
www.salford.ac.uk/arts-media
!To whom it may concern:
!
Re: Reference for Gabriella Tavini: Manchester Metropolitan University/MA in Creative Writing
!I am pleased to provide a reference for Gabriella Tavini. I have known Gabriel since her first year as
an undergraduate in English and Creative Writing at University of Salford (entry 2012). She
attended modules on which I lecture in Level One. Her programme did not involve any of my
modules in Level Two, but she attended my Shakespeare and the Play of Thought module in her
final year. This module differs in many ways from the “normal” module expected of a student in that
it requires the acquisition of knowledge in the field of language study (Shakespeare’s use of
language and rhetoric) and then a major essay on how Shakespeare experiments with genre in
order to illuminate a topic chosen by the student. I was immediately impressed with the application
and intelligence which Gabriella displayed, her contributions to seminar showing both sensitivity and
logic in her reading. It was clear to me that she found the subject engaging and wanted to meet the
module’s intellectual, critical, and imaginative challenges, which she did admirably, achieving first
class marks on both of her essays. Her profile for Levels Two and Three shows similar high
standards of achievement in both areas of her joint degree--the academic and the creative--a
consistency of achievement which strongly indicates that Gabriella possesses the abilities and
talents to undertake and succeed in her desire to obtain an MA in Creative Writing degree.
!It is clear to me that Gabriella is an enthusiastic and determined student, one who is willing to take
advice and to work hard to achieve high levels in her studies. She engages intelligently and is
willing to do the extra required to develop her potential. For example, she has completed the
Wordscope Academic Writing Workshop programme here at UoS (which I administer), a voluntary
programme which demands hard work and a significant investment in time. Moreover, in contrast to
many students she made time to see me during office hours to discuss her work and to get advice
about how to improve.
!Gabriella is a likeable and sociable person. She gets along well with her peers and with academic
staff. My colleagues speak highly of her. She possesses a good sense of humour and strikes me as
an intelligent, confident, and independent thinker. Most importantly, she brings enthusiasm to her
studies. Gabriella will work hard to meet her goals and will take her responsibilities as a post-
graduate student seriously. I recommend her unreservedly as a candidate for your MA in Creative
Writing.
!Dr. Carson Bergstrom
Senior Lecturer in English Literature
Director: Wordscope
University of Salford
Salford Crescent
Salford M5 4WT
0161 295 4418
c.bergstrom@salford.ac.uk