I will generally assume the larger the class and the larger the institution, the less familiar the reference will be with the applicant. This assumption is frequently incorrect but I will not realize it unless that is made clear. This, unfortunately, is not true unless I am familiar with the particular academic program. In short, all applicants with a 3.8 grade point average are not judged as being equal. Some students have taken more challenging courses than others.
Some faculty are more demanding than others.
Our Admissions Committee may not be aware of which courses are graduate level courses or which are part of the Honors Program. All applicants to Chicago are asked to supply academic references with copies of their full transcript so that those who write may comment, to the extent they can, on the quality of the overall academic record. There may be little to distinguish between the abilities and characteristics which law schools look for in comparison with those characteristics which other graduate academic programs seek. Legal education and the legal profession, however, do emphasize some skills over others and the following comments may help writers who are not familiar with those distinctions. Language is the lawyers working tool and the best law students are those who have the ability to write and speak with precision, fluency, and economy.