About Recommendation Letters

A recommendation letter is one of the few documents in a person's career file that they cannot write themselves. That means the responsibility falls to you to be specific, candid, and useful — three qualities that generic letters of recommendation almost always lack. The strongest recommendation letters are not the most enthusiastic; they are the ones that include a particular story, a comparable peer set, and a clear assessment of where the candidate sits within it. Reviewers are trained to read past adjectives like "outstanding" and "exceptional" and to look instead for evidence. The templates in this section are built around that structure: one anchor anecdote, two or three concrete strengths with examples, and a single direct sentence of recommendation at the close.

For more on how to write a letter in this category — the conventions, the pitfalls, and the specific rules of tone that apply — see our full Recommendation Letters writing guide.