An Effective Letter of Reference should have the following points noted

Identify Oneself as the Writer of the Letter of Reference
When writing a letter of reference, one should always identify himself as the person who has a genuine interest in the candidate being written about. This can be simple. The writer must identify himself with his full name, his complete address, his current telephone number, his chosen email address, his professional title, and of course the date on the letter is an important identifying feature. The writer must also identify his purpose.

The writer must explain in simple terms the reason why he is writing this letter of reference for the candidate. This can be the difficult part of the identification, but it is necessary for the integrity of the professional letter of identification. This part may be written to say in simple terms that I have known this particular candidate for four years as his advisor in undergraduate school or it can say something like I have known this candidate for graduate school as a camp counselor advisor and that this individual worked for him.

Identifying The Candidate’s strengths is the next step
This part of the recommendation has to be written in specific details. It has to say specifically what you know about the candidate to be true. For instance, as the college advisor, one could say that this candidate always chose the most difficult subjects, and worked hard on his studies, and did exceptionally well.

One could say that as his advisor, one knew that his professors thought very highly of this individual. As a camp counselor advisor, one should say that he delegated a lot of authority to this individual and that this individual always performed his duties well. As a camp counselor, one should say that parents of the children that this candidate served were very pleased with this candidate.

The Writer of This Professional Reference Should Always Mention Positive Specific Skills
It is most important to say specific skills when writing a reference for this individual. For instance, as his college advisor, I know that he mastered his science subjects and received all top grades in his science and English courses. One should say that the candidate assumed leadership roles on the undergraduate college campus.

One should give the exact titles of the leadership roles that the candidate undertook. For instance, if the candidate was an editor for the college campus newspaper, then one should say that in words. If the candidate was on the track team and participated with the team on meets with other teams from other colleges, one should say that in words.

The writer of the Reference Should Connect Past Performance with Expected Performance
The writer should specifically say that because of the candidate’s many fruitful achievements in college that he will be an excellent choice for the graduate program.

The Writer and Personal Statements
The writer should specifically say that he wishes the candidate every success.