How to Write a Letter of

Recommendation

Scribendi.com's editors provide tips that will help you write a recommendation letter

Scribendi.com has compiled some

simple guidelines that can help you get

the style, tone, content, and

presentation of your recommendation

letter just right.

The end result will be an effective and professional

recommendation letter.

These tips are for a generic

recommendation letter, but they can also

be applied to writing a college

recommendation letter for an academic

position or an employee recommendation

letter to help them land a top job.

Your aim should be to provide support by

giving a positive but balanced summary of

the person and their skills and qualities.

Take your time when coming up with

content

• The best way to go about creating

content for your recommendation

letter is to take some time and plan

what you want to say.

• We suggest the following points as a

guide to organizing the content of your

letter:

• Introduce yourself and state your position.

• Say how you know the candidate and how long

you have known them.

• Outline the candidate's skills that are applicable

to the position, as well as any relevant experience.

• Give a brief description of the candidate’s

personal qualities (e.g., helpful, calm, etc.).

• Mention how the person interacts with others (e.g.,

good team player, considerate of colleagues,

etc.).

• Say why, in your opinion, the candidate is suitable

for the position and what you believe he or she

could offer the organization.

• Emphasize anything outstanding about the

candidate. For example: What are his or her

particular talents?

• Mention any important gaps in the candidate's

skills or knowledge.

Strike a balance in your letter of

recommendation

• Although the focus of your recommendation letter

should be on the good things about the

candidate, the person you are writing to needs to

know if the candidate needs improvement in any

area.

• If you present your views in a positive way,

highlighting an area where the candidate needs

to improve, your comment should be helpful.

• For example, imagine you are writing the

recommendation letter for a student (let's

call him John) who has difficulties meeting

deadlines.

• You have already talked to John about

this, and he is now working on his time

management and organizational skills.

• You feel it is right to mention this in the

recommendation letter, as it is a fairly big

problem for John, and you know he will

need ongoing support while he develops

these skills.

"John has many skills and qualities that I have

mentioned above. However, to ensure he can

achieve his long-term goals, he will need further support to develop his time

management and organizational skills. He has

been working hard to improve these skills over

the last year, and I have already seen some

improvement."

One way to approach

this could be to write:

Remember, your reputation for giving an honest recommendation is also

important.

Recommendation letter format

Now that we have looked at the content; what about the recommendation letter

format?

The letter should be a standard formal letter with your contact details and the date at the top of the letter. Times New Roman font always looks very professional, and the font

size should be 11- or 12-point.

• You should address the recommendation

letter directly to the person responsible for

the application, or to the Human

Resources department if you don't have a

name (in the case of a company).

• In the case of other types of organizations,

you can address the letter "To Whom It

May Concern."

• However, it is always best to get the

candidate to provide you with a contact

name if possible.

• Try not to write an excessively long letter

of recommendation.

• A single page should be sufficient, as

the candidate will also have completed

an application form and/or submitted a

resume or curriculum vitae.

Be mindful of your tone

The tone of a recommendation letter should be professional, with content that is easy to read

and clear in meaning. You should show the reader that you are approachable and would be

pleased to provide more help or information. You can do this by adding the following sentence at the end of your letter:

"Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information."

Make an impression with the presentation of

your recommendation letter

• Sometimes it may help to look at a

recommendation letter example to

see exactly how this letter should look.

• Nothing looks more unprofessional

than a recommendation letter with

spelling, grammar, or punctuation

mistakes, and poor attention to detail.

Learn how to write other kinds of letters! Check

out How to Write a Letter, available on Kindle

and in paperback on Amazon.

Want to learn more?

Want to learn more about the ins and outs of formal letter

writing? Visit the editing experts at www.scribendi.com,

the leading online editing and proofreading company.

If you want to become an English-language expert

yourself, check out GrammarCamp.com and

ProofreadingCamp.com. These online courses will help

you master the English language so that you can become

a better writer!

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