Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40393074›Full record

ArticleATS scholar2025

Stories Make for Better Letters of Recommendation and Award Nominations.

Theodore J Iwashyna, Kelly C Vranas

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ATS scholar, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Theodore J IwashynaDivision of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, and.ORCID 0000-0002-4226-9310
Kelly C VranasCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon.ORCID 0000-0001-7450-3717

Funding

AHRQ HHS P30 HS029772AHRQ HHS P30HS029772
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Letters of recommendation and nomination play an essential role in the distribution of many key positions, prizes, awards, and grants, particularly for early career nominees. There is very little scientific evidence about how to write such letters most effectively when the goal is to win in a competitive field. When writing a nomination letter, we believe a compelling narrative is a powerful and sometimes underused tool to make a more effective nomination. This article presents an approach to a narrative-centered nomination letter that places the nominee's achievements in the context of a simplified storytelling arc. We emphasize that effective letters use classic, well-understood tropes to allow readers to efficiently understand, retain facts about, and root for ongoing successes of nominees. We argue that this can be done without exaggeration or distortion and that providing a coherent tale, supported by evidence, is a crucial and distinctive component of effective letter writing.

Indexed as

Awards and PrizesCorrespondence as TopicNarrationWritingHumansadvisecareer developmenthow-toletterspersonal statements

Identifiers

PMID40393074
PMCPMC12219789

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.