Fillable Printable Writing a student reference/letter of recommendation
Fillable Printable Writing a student reference/letter of recommendation
Writing a student reference/letter of recommendation
Writing a student reference/letter of recommendation (JB Aug 2012)
The Careers Service is often asked for guidelines about what should be included in letters of reference.
G E N E R A L G U I D E L I N E S
• B e s p e c i f i c a n d g i v e e x a m p l e s t o j u s t i f y t h e p o i n t s t h a t y o u m a k e .
• Request a CV or personal statement for additional information. This can inform your writing and
enable you to be specific e.g. refer to anecdotes that back up points about a student's
p e r s o n a l i t y a n d a b i l i t y .
• Raise the issue of references with students in class early in the academic year and clarify yo u r / t h e
D e p a r t m e n t ' s p r o c e d u r e f o r d e a l i n g w i t h r e f e r e n c e s .
• One page of a typewritten A4 page is generally sufficient - but do try to write more than one p a r a g r a p h ! .
• R e s p o n d a s q u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e t o a r e q u es t .
• Never lie! Do not make up anything or omit a glaring weakness. If you have any reservations due to
lack of knowledge then this should be stated at the beginning of the reference.
• Students should inform you of the job(s) or course(s) they are applying for. The reader of the letter
wishes to get to know the person better and you can tailor your give evidence of r e l e v a n t s k i l l s ,
k no w l e d g e o r e x p e r i e n c e s .
• If the letter is going to be negative, or overly bland, then tell the student who requests it in a d v a n c e .
T h e r e q u e s t m a y t h e n b e w i t h d r a w n .
• Some writers suggest that you avoid the gushing letter that only has positives to say and encourage
you to write briefl y ab ou t a weak nes s /are a f or de velopm ent as i t will gi ve bala nc e to the letter . Ei th er
way be c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h w h a t y o u s a y .
• You can also follow the letter with a phone call. Do not substitute a telephone reference for a w r i t t e n
o n e i f t h a t i s w h a t i s r e q u e s t e d .
• Be careful to avoid discriminatory references on issues such as age, gender, disability, r e l i g i o n , r a c e ,
m a r i t a l s t a t u s e t c .
GU IDEL I N ES F OR ST R U CT U R E AND CONT E NT O F T HE LET T E R
• Identify the student and the capacity in which you came to know him / her - include your a f f i l i a t i o n /
r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e m .
• Give as much evidence as possible of the student's increased knowledge or maturity, understanding of
material or other aspects of development during the period you know them.
• R e f e r t o t h e s k i l l s of th e studen t. Examp les a vai lab le at h t t p : / / w w w . o n e t o n l i n e . o r g / s k i l l s /
• It is important to be honest and factual - it would be better to decline to write a letter that is v a g u e i n
t o n e .
• Providing details of relevant attitudes, abilities, competencies and personal attributes is also v e r y
i m p o r t a n t , f o r e x a m p l e :
G o o d o r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s
E n t h u s i a s m
D e g r e e c l a s s if i c a t i o n , g r a d e s f o r m o d u l e s o r p r o j e c t s
A t t i t u d e t o s t u d y a n d r e s e a r c h
P r o b l e m s o l v i n g
G o o d w r i t t e n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s
P e r s o n a l / t r a n s f e r a b l e s k i l l s
W o r k e x p e r i e n c e
T e a m w o r k N u m e r a c y
B u s i n e s s a w a r e n e s s
L e a v i n g C e r t i f i c a t e g r a d e s
C o m p u t i n g o r i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y s k i l l s
S e l f r e l i a n c e , c a p a c i t y t o w o r k a u t o n o m o u s l y
C o u r s e c o n t e n t c o m p e t e n c y - s p e c i f i c t e c h n i c a l s k i l l s / m e t h o d o l o g i e s
F e e d b a c k o n p l a c e m e n t e x p e r i e n c e
F e e d b a c k o n a y e a r o u t
Avoid bland words such as nice, good, fairly, reasonable and satisfactory. Use active verbs such as: managed, liaised,
undertook, oversaw, developed, applied, demonstrated, showed leadership
REFERENCE LETTER SAMPLE
Below is a suggested format for reference letters. The bracketed words are suggested options
to use when applicable to your particular letter. See also the resources section below.
D e a r [ N A M E O F E M P L O Y E R : ] o r [ T O W H O M I T M A Y C O N C E R N : ]
P A R A G R A P H 1 :
If writt en to a s pecif ic employer: I am writing this ref erence letter at the request of [student] who
i s a p p l y i n g f o r t h e p o s i t i o n o f [ j o b t i t l e ] w i t h y o u r [ f i r m , c om pan y, s chool, e tc. ]
If writte n ' to wh om it m ay c oncern': I am wr iting th is ref er ence l etter at th e r eq uest of [student].
S/he has asked me to write this general letter which s/he may show to any prospective
e m p l o y e r w h o a s k s h i m / h e r f o r r e f e r e n c e s .
If letter is confidential: This is a confidential letter and should be shared only with people in your
firm who a re dir ect ly in volv ed in the hir ing de ci sion . T his let te r s ho ul d no t be s h own t o [st ud en t]
w h o w a i v e d t h e r i g h t t o s ee t h e l e t te r .
P A R A G R A P H 2 :
I h ave know n [stu de nt] for [ le ngt h o f tim e] in m y ca pac it y a s a [ your j ob tit le] at [yo ur em ployer].
If Applic ab le: [s tud en t] wor ked f or me as a [j ob tit le]/ or [student] belo nged to the [c lu b or
or ga nis ati on] f or w hic h I s er ved as an adv iso r/ or [s tud e nt ] t ook [n um ber ] c our s es fr om m e,
inc lu din g [ nam es] . [ St ude n t] ea r ne d g rades of [li st gr ade s], r espect ive l y, in t hos e c o urs es.
Ba s ed on [s t ud ent 's] gr a de s , a lo ng wit h h is / he r [ ex c ell ent , g o od , etc .] at t en dan ce a n d cl ass
p a r t i c i p a t i o n , I ' d r a t e [ s t u d e n t s ] p e r f o r m a n c e i n m y c l a s s a s [ r a t i n g ] .
P A R A G R A P H 3 :
[S tud en t] has a num ber of st re n gt h s t o of fer [an e m plo yer, a grad ua te pr ogr am ]. (Li st qua li tie s here, backing
each one up with examples. Try to pick qualities that tie into the specific type of
job student is seeking or requested on the grad school application).
EX A MPL E: [S tu den t ] of ten ex h ib ite d exc e ll e nt le ader sh ip in m y c las s, v ol u nt e er i ng to le ad
groups and then organising the group's project quickly and efficiently. This attribute would serve
[ s t u d e n t n a m e ] w e l l i n t h e p o s i t i o n o f A s s i s t a n t M a n a g e r w i t h y o u r c o m p a n y .
P A R A G R A P H 4 :
In c onc lus io n, I w oul d [ hig h ly] r ec om me nd [s tu den t]. I f his /h er p er f or m anc e in m y cla ss( es) is
any indication of how she/he w ould p erfor m [on the j ob, i n p ostgr adu ate s tud y, etc .], [ stu de nt] will be a
p o s i t i v e a d d i t i o n t o y o u r [ f i r m / c o l l e g e , e t c . ] .
S i n c e r e l y y o u r s , N A M E & T I T L E
Material and letter sample is adapted from the Career Development Centre, Ohio State Univer s i t y
RESOURCES: Some good annotated examples from Brookes University
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/student/services/handbook/docs/ref-postgrad.pdf
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/student/services/handbook/docs/ref-employment.pdf
