How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

A light aside
How to write a recommendation letter—and how to ask for one
Other topics in scientific communication

With regard to letters of recommendation, concern sometimes has existed that “the candidate may later exercise the legal right to read the letter, and perhaps even sue if the contents are not to his liking and are insufficiently substantiated” (Thornton 2003). To address this concern, a professor at Lehigh University has devised a “Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations, or LIAR” (Thornton 1987). An example: “To describe a candidate who is not particularly industrious: ’In my opinion you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you.’” Further examples along these lines appear in the book L.I.A.R.: The Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations (Thornton 2003).