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The following article is an adaptation from a chapter in the Revised Edition of my best-selling book/ebook “Instant Recommendation Letter Kit – Revised Edition”.

The new version can be seen at the Web site:
http://InstantRecommendationLetterKit.com

While writing and editing literally hundreds of recommendation and reference letters over the years, I have noticed certain common elements and approaches that are applicable to almost all such letters. And, ever since I published my best-seller of a couple of years ago “Instant Recommendation Letter Kit”, I have been meaning to write down these common elements/approaches.

Finally, I did manage to jot it all down in a brand new chapter while I was drafting the Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit. That new chapter is simply titled, “Recommendation Power Phrases”.

If you look closely at many recommendation and reference letters you will notice that there are certain “types” of phrases that recur over and over again throughout the various letters. These statement types can be grouped into three major categories: opening statements, assessment statements, and closing statements. These statements are the three key components of any recommendation or reference letter. If you formulate these phrases well you are guaranteed to have an excellent letter.

1. OPENING STATEMENTS

The opening statement in a letter of recommendation should state the name of the person being recommended. It can also explain why you are the person writing the letter. The opening statement should normally be one short sentence and should never exceed two sentences.

Following are three (3) generic typical opening statements for inclusion in recommendation letters or reference letters:

• I am writing this letter at the request of [name of requestor].
• This is in response to your recent request for a letter of recommendation for [name].
• I am pleased to be able to write this letter of recommendation for [name].

The Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit contains OVER 50 opening statements for the various types of letter of recommendation.

2. ASSESSMENT STATEMENTS

Assessment statements in a letter of recommendation are those sentences and phrases that contain the recommender’s specific assessment of the performance, characteristics, and attributes of the person being recommended.

Normally an assessment statement will be followed up by one or two specific performance-related examples backing up the statement just made.

Following are three (3) generic typical assessment statements for inclusion in recommendation letters or reference letters:

• In my opinion, [name] is a hard-working self-starter who invariably understands exactly what a project is all about.
• [name] consistently produces high quality work in a timely fashion.
• The only area of weakness that I ever noted in [name]’s performance was…

The Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit contains OVER 50 such assessment statements for the various types of recommendation letters.

3. CLOSING STATEMENTS

The closing statement in a letter of recommendation should be one or two sentences at most, and it should make a clear statement of recommendation that flows logically from the points made in the assessment part of the letter. They will often begin with transition phrases such as: “In summary…”, “In Closing,…”, “Based on the foregoing,…”, “Accordingly,…”, etc.

Closing statements in recommendation letters are generally positive, but in some circumstances they may be qualified, or even completely negative.

Following are three (3) generic typical closing statements for inclusion in recommendation letters and reference letters:

• I am therefore very pleased to be able to recommend [name] for…
• Based on my time working with [name], I recommend her very highly for…
• I respect [name] as a colleague, but I must say that in all honesty, I cannot recommend him for your committee.

The Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit contains OVER 40 such closing statements for the various types of recommendation letters.

In summary, mastering these three types of “recommendation power phrases” is the key to writing all types of letters of recommendation. As such, knowledge of how to write typical opening, assessment, and closing statements used in recommendation and reference letters, as illustrated above, will make writing these letters a lot easier.

Accordingly, to help people quickly formulate their own recommendation letters, I have included more than 150 generic “Recommendation Letter Power Phrases” in the latest Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit:

Although, it’s unlikely that anyone who owns the Kit will ever have to actually write a recommendation letter from scratch. These recommendation power phrases are provided here simply for information purposes, since Instant Recommendation Letter Kit includes 89 fully-formatted real-life recommendation letter templates with the power phrases already built-in. These templates can can be downloaded into a word processor and quickly and easily adapted to fit just about any situation.

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Based on my experience over the years writing literally thousands of letters covering just about every situation imaginable, I would have to say that among the most difficult of all letters to write is the “letter of recommendation”.

I’m referring here to the letter of recommendation in all of its various forms: recommendation letter, letter of recommendation, reference letter, letter of reference, commendation letter, letter of commendation, and performance evaluation letter.

Of course, it gets extra tricky when you realize that letters of recommendation are needed for a number of different life situations and purposes including: employment, college/university, business, institutional, government, and community service.

So, what I have done here is put together this central “letter of recommendation resource page” containing links to the various recommendation letter writing resources that are hidden away in various places on my Writing Help Central Web site.

For each resource link, I’ll briefly describe what you will find there, followed by the link.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION RESOURCES

Letters of Recommendation Explained
This article tries to reduce some of the confusion surrounding the whole subject of “letters of recommendation”. From an overall perspective, it defines the different “types” of recommendation letters and explains their purpose.
http://writingprompts.com/article-letters-of-recommendation.html

Recommendation Letter Writing Strategies
Letters of recommendation are very situational by their very nature. This page contains a number of guidelines to follow when considering whether you will write a recommendation letter, and what your approach might be.
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-strategies.html

Recommendation Power Phrases
All letters of recommendation are comprised of three key components: opening statements, assessment statements, and closing statements. This article explains those components and provides examples.
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-power-phrases.html

Letter of Recommendation Examples
This page focuses on true “recommendation letters” and defines exactly what makes them different from “reference letters”. Links to three typical “letter of recommendation” examples are also provided.
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-letter-definition.html

Reference Letter Samples
This page focuses on true “reference letters” and defines exactly what makes them different from “recommendation letters”. Links to three typical “letter of reference” samples are also provided.
http://writingprompts.com/reference-letter-definition.html

The information at the above links should give you a pretty clear idea of the specific type of letter of recommendation you are dealing with, and what are the main considerations.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Number One letter of recommendation writing resource on the planet (that’s right!). Here it is:

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As I’ve pointed out in a number of my articles on this subject, there is a lot of confusion about the differences and similarities between recommendation letters and reference letters. For instance, which is which, and why?

It’s confusing enough for the average person who only has to write one of these letters every once in a while. However, when you look into it in-depth as I have, and realize that many of the so-called “experts” don’t even know the differences between a recommendation letter and a reference letter, the general confusion is very understandable.

I tried to demystify this confusion somewhat in a couple of articles I wrote a couple of years ago, and in the first version of my best selling book Instant Recommendation Letter Kit by drawing a bit of a line between recommendation letters and reference letters.

That helped, but it still left a gray area of overlap between the two.

Explaining The Confusion

Since then, I’ve been watching the whole issue carefully and have conducted additional research, leading me to conclude the following:

1. Many people and institutions use the term “recommendation letter” to mean BOTH recommendation letters AND reference letters (about 2/3).
   
   
2. Many people and institutions use the term “reference letter” to mean BOTH reference letters AND recommendation letters (about 1/3).
   
   
3. Both groups are talking about essentially the same type of letter in their minds and they don’t seem to draw any distinction between the two.
   
   
4. Thus, those who use the term “recommendation letter” ALWAYS use that term. Those who use the term “reference letter” ALWAYS use that term.

… and “never the twain shall meet”, as the saying goes.

So, for the purposes of this article on “letters of recommendation” I am going to use the broad definition that I have employed in the latest Revised Edition of Instant Recommendation Letter Kit, as follows:

Recommendation Letters “Defined”

Originally, “recommendation letters” or “letters of recommendation” were letters that made a clear and specific “recommendation” about someone.

I define it as a “recommendation letter” when the letter is specifically requested about someone and is therefore addressed to a specific requestor.

Generally speaking, letters of recommendation are almost always employment-related or college program admission/scholarship related.

Nevertheless, a couple of other person-specific letter types that also come under the general “letter of recommendation” heading are: commendation letters and performance evaluation letters.

Letters of Recommendation – Samples

Following are three real-life sample template examples of typical letters of recommendation:

Letter of Recommendation – Teaching award.

Recommendation Letter – Former employee.

Recommendation Letter – Commendation.

Recommendation Letter Strategy

In any case, somehow over the years the line between the two types of letters has become blurred and many people and institutions now use the two terms interchangeably. As far as those organizations are concerned both letters are exactly the same thing.

Accordingly, please note that many colleges and universities, as well as some companies and institutions, use the terms “recommendation letter” and/or “letter of recommendation” when referring to exactly the same thing as what many other colleges, universities, companies and institutions call “reference letters” and/or “letters of reference”.

So when dealing with these types of institutions make sure you use whichever term they use in the same way that they use it. DON’T try to convert them to your terminology. That will just confuse things and you will pay the price.