Eight Tips for Writing Recommendation Letters for Students

1. In order to be positive that you are safe to say every specific thing that you are planning to say, it is not a bad idea to ask the student for his or her transcripts, a list of his or her extracurricular activities and if they’re looking for a job, a copy of their resume or CV (curriculum vita).

2. Unless you know the individuals on the admission board of the graduate program that the student is attempting to enter into, it is usually best to begin with “To Whom It May Concern”. It is also best to mention the student’s name in the first line in order to save time.

3. In the first paragraph, also introduce yourself and indicate your position. This also saves time. Even if you think very highly of the student, throwing in a bunch of positive accolades tends to take up space and reading time. You want keep your letter to one-page and not being concise about your points can make the letter look as if it’s “running on”.

4. Some things that you are safe to mention in the letter: your observances with the student’s interactions with others, descriptions of positive personal qualities that you’ve observed in him or her, how you know the student, outlining any skills that you think are relevant to the job position or graduate program, any particular talents that you’ve observed in the student, any knowledge loopholes you’ve observed within the student.

5. What you mention about the student should emphasize the positive. However, mentioning any kinks in time management and organization skills may be necessary. If you are going to do this, it’s a good idea to discuss this with the student first in order to give the student a chance and some time to improve on them. That way, you can mention that even though the student still has some difficulty in this area that the student is doing his or her best to improve on it. Everyone, including the student, is only human so making the student seem like he or she doesn’t have any flaws whatsoever could make it look as if you’re recommending a robot.

6. When writing a recommendation letter for a student, remember that the application process for both jobs and graduate programs are still quite formal. Be sure to treat your student’s recommendation letter almost akin to that of a cover letter.

7. A good ending to your letter shouldn’t look like a desperate run-around to ensure that you haven’t missed anything you want to mention about the student. A simple line such as “If you have any questions about so-and-so, please contact me at this 999-999-999 or e-mail me at [email protected].”

8. Once you’re completely done writing, be sure to double and triple check for any spelling or grammatical errors. If you send it in with any detectable writing errors, it can reflect negatively on both you and the student.