How To Write a Letter of Recommendation

Although I have written a number of articles that deal with various aspects of writing letters of recommendation, I have never before itemized in one place the important steps you need to follow when writing a recommendation letter. Following is a list of those key points:

Make Sure It IS A Recommendation Letter
As I have detailed at length elsewhere, there is a lot of confusion between recommendation letters and reference letters. So make sure that the letter you are about to write is actually a letter of recommendation and not a letter of reference. For more on that, check out the following link:
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-letter-definition.html

Determine Your Approach and Strategy
Depending on the specific situation you are dealing with, your approach and strategy to drafting the recommendation letter will vary. First and foremost, are you the best person to be writing this letter of recommendation? Then there will be questions as to how direct and forthcoming do you need to be? Also, is it appropriate to write something negative about the person being recommended? For more on recommendation letter writing strategies, check out the following link:
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-strategies.html

Structure Your Letter Appropriately
Letters of recommendation will normally follow a three-part structure: 1.) opening statement, 2.) assessment statements, and 3.) closing statement. For more on what these “recommendation letter power statements” are all about, you can check out the following link:
http://writingprompts.com/recommendation-power-phrases.html

Review Your Letter Carefully
Whether you are writing a recommendation letter for yourself or for someone else, it is likely to be among the most important letters you will ever write. Letters of recommendation have the power to change people’s lives. That’s why it is imperative that you carefully review the letter of recommendation that you have drafted and make sure it is phrased appropriately and is absolutely correct in terms of spelling and grammar. For obvious reasons, a recommendation letter is one that needs to be as close to perfect as possible.