How to Write a Recommendation Letter for Someone
You will probably be asked to write a recommendation letter for someone at some point in your life. These letters are written to help people get scholarships, jobs, custody of their children, adopt new children, and get accepted to college. Here's how to write a neat and effective letter.
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Instructions
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Begin with a goal in mind. If you are recommending someone for a job, your goal is to demonstrate that they are hard-working, intelligent, and dedicated. If you are recommending someone for full custody of their children, you want to show that they are responsible, reliable and are a consistently great parent.
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Keeping your goal in mind, make a list of character traits that person has that proves that goal. Fill the letter with plenty of positive adjectives about the candidate. Add to your list a few stories that support your claims of their greatness, like the time her car broke down and she ran to work so she wouldn't be late... something like that.
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Begin by addressing the recipient of the letter. For this, you must use "Dear..." then follow with Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. or whatever the case may be, followed by their last name. Be sure to type a comma after their last name. It should look like "Dear Dr. and Mrs. Smith,".
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Go down another line and indent the first paragraph by pressing the tab key. Open the letter with a statement that shows you are excited and honored to write the letter for so-and-so. "It is my pleasure to write this letter on behalf of Mrs. Jane Doe." Inform the reader of how long you have known the person you are recommending, and in what context.
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Look at your list and start formulating sentences. Try to follow in chronological order, or at least make sure the sentences flow nicely from one to another. When you're finished, thank the recipient for giving you the opportunity to recommend Mr. Whoever, and sign it "Sincerely, Mr. Adam Jones". You may want to leave space in between Sincerely and Mr. Adam Jones so you can physically sign it with a pen.
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Tips & Warnings
Proofreading for spelling and grammar are ESSENTIAL. When you make careless errors on a recommendation letter, it makes you look poorly educated and makes the person you're recommending look like they have bad judgement about choosing you to recommend them.
It is especially important to spell all names correctly. If you spell the recipient's name wrong, you look rude. If you spell the candidate's name wrong, it looks like you don't know them well enough to recommend them.
Have several other people read it, too. They may be able to find mistakes or poorly-worded sentences that you didn't notice.
Resources
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