What should I include on a college recommendation letter brag sheet for my teacher?

A good brag sheet should give your teacher concrete material they can actually use in a letter, not just a list of accomplishments. The most helpful version is specific, organized, and tied to what they’ve personally seen from you.

Include your basic context first: intended majors or academic interests, activities, jobs, family responsibilities if relevant, and any goals for college. This helps the teacher place their class in the bigger picture of who you are.

Then focus on your relationship with that teacher’s class. Mention specific contributions you made, like insightful class discussions, improvement over time, a project you were proud of, leadership in a group, curiosity outside the syllabus, or persistence through challenges. If there was a particular paper, lab, presentation, or moment where you think you showed your strengths, name it.

It also helps to describe qualities you hope the letter reflects, such as intellectual curiosity, initiative, kindness, resilience, creativity, or maturity. For each quality, give a short example. That is much more useful than just writing “hardworking” or “leader.”

You can also include a short section on what you value or what motivates you academically. If your teacher knows what drives you, they can write a more personal letter instead of a generic one.

Try to avoid turning it into a resume in paragraph form. Don’t just repeat grades, test scores, or a long awards list unless something needs explanation or context. Teachers already know your transcript matters. What they need are details that help them tell a story about how you learn, contribute, and interact with others.

A simple format works well: activities and responsibilities, highlights from their class, qualities with examples, future interests, and anything they should know about your background.