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 STUDENT  PROFESSIONAL  DEVELOPMENT  CENTER  

 
 
 
 
 
WRITING  RECOMMENDATION  LETTERS  
 
TIPS  
 
• Be  clear  and  straightforward  with  students  if  you  have  reservations  about  writing  a  letter;  this  
could  be  a  valuable  learning  opportunity  for  them  and/or  could  ultimately  lead  to  the  student  
receiving  a  stronger  letter  from  someone  else  
• Ask  the  student  to  provide  you  with  details  about  the  opportunity  they’re  applying  for  and  the  
qualifications  they  have  for  this  experience  (3-­‐4  specific  stories)  
• Be  aware  of  length  requirements  and  due  dates.  Not  following  the  instructions  or  requests  of  the  
college’s  admissions  committee  could  result  in  harming  your  student’s  college  applications  
• Focus  your  letter  on  your  firsthand  experience  with  the  student;  this  will  make  for  a  detailed  and  
descriptive  letter  (rather  than  a  generic  letter)    
• Do  not  use  adjectives/descriptors  without  clear  examples  to  back  up  your  claims  
• Address  what  makes  the  student  special  (have  they  overcome  any  specific  challenges?  Are  they  in  
the  top  1%  of  students  you’ve  worked  with  in  a  20-­‐year  career  in  higher  ed?)    
• Define  Elon-­‐specific  awards  for  a  non-­‐Elon  audience  (i.e.  what  does  it  mean  to  be  an  Honors  Fellow?  
A  Lumen  Scholar?)    
• If  a  hard  copy  is  requested,  print  your  recommendation  letter  out  on  the  letterhead  of  your  school,  
reinforcing  your  professionalism  and  authority  
• In  your  letter,  you  may  feel  obligated  to  provide  potentially  negative  or  neutral  information.  If  this  
is  the  case,  consider  adding  a  request  to  contact  you  for  further  information  regarding  the  student  
 
 
R  E  S  O  U  R  C  E  S    
 
Center  for  Writing  Excellence          
http://cwe.elon.edu  
 
Purdue  University  Online  Writing  Lab      
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/  
 
UNC-­‐Chapel  Hill  Writing  Center,  Letters  of  Recommendation        
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/letters-­‐of-­‐recommendation/  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
F  O  R  M  A  T  (Business  Letter)  
 
 
Recipient  Name  
Recipient  Title  
Recipient  Company  
Address  
City,  State,  Zip  Code  
 
Date  
 
 
Salutation  
Always  address  the  recommendation  letter  to  the  appropriate  person.  Your  student  should  provide  this  
information  for  you.  “To  Whom  It  May  Concern”  is  a  last  resort.  
 
First  Paragraph  
The  first  paragraph  of  a  recommendation  letter  explains  your  connection  to  the  person  you  are  
recommending,  including  how  you  know  them,  and  why  you  are  qualified  to  recommend  the  person  for  
employment  or  school.  
 
Second  Paragraph  
The  second  paragraph  of  a  recommendation  letter  contains  information  about  the  individual  you  are  
writing  about,  including  why  they  are  qualified,  what  they  can  contribute,  and  why  you  are  recommending  
them.  If  necessary,  use  more  than  one  paragraph  to  provide  details.  
 
Third  Paragraph  
When  writing  a  letter  recommending  a  candidate  for  a  specific  job  opening,  the  recommendation  letter  
should  include  information  on  how  the  person's  skills  match  the  position  they  are  applying  for.  
Ask  for  a  copy  of  the  job  posting  and  a  copy  of  the  person's  resume  so  you  can  target  your  letter  
accordingly.  
 
Summary  
This  section  of  the  recommendation  later  contains  a  brief  summary  of  why  are  you  are  recommending  the  
person.  Use  phrases  like  "strongly  recommend",  or  "recommend  without  reservation"  or  "  Candidate  has  
my  highest  recommendation"  to  reinforce  your  endorsement.  
 
Conclusion  
The  concluding  paragraph  of  your  recommendation  letter  contains  an  offer  to  provide  more  information.  
Include  a  phone  number  within  the  paragraph,  and  include  the  phone  number  and  email  address  in  the  
return  address  section  of  your  letter,  or  in  your  signature.  
 
Closing  
Sincerely,  
Recommender  Name  
 
Your  Address  
Your  City,  State,  Zip  Code  
Your  Phone  Number  
Your  Email  Address  
 
  
 
E  X  A  M  P  L  E      O  N  E    
 
To  Whom  It  May  Concern:  
 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  write  a  recommendation  for  Ms.  XYZ.  She  was  my  student  majoring  in  Communication  
Design  in  final  year  session  2003  and  now  she  has  become  a  valuable  faculty  member  in  the  department  of  
Communication  Design,  ABC  College,  Lahore  since  2010.  Between  that  period  she  also  achieved  a  Masters  
Degree  in  Multimedia  Arts,  2006.  
 
I  consider  XYZ  a  natural  in  the  field  of  communication  design.  Through  her  time  here  she  has  exhibited  the  
imagination,  originality  and  flair  that  is  required  of  a  person  who  wishes  to  be  a  success  in  this  field.  She  
coupled  this  natural  aptitude  very  well  with  a  practical  and  adaptable  approach.  During  this  time  it  became  
evident  to  me  that  XYZ  is  very  perceptive  and  possesses  a  wealth  of  creative  abilities.  Also,  she  is  always  
motivated  to  do  something  different  which  is  interesting  and  stimulating  for  design  students.  Her  approach  
demonstrates  her  understanding  of  the  underlying  issues  of  design  and  design  teaching.  
 
XYZ  has  a  great  potential  to  do  things  very  seriously.  This  is  not  only  because  of  her  natural  abilities,  but  
also  because  of  her  attitude  towards  her  work.  She  believes  in  her  work  and  her  ability  to  excel,  but  she  has  
never  forgotten  that  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  effort.  She  is  very  much  clear  about  her  abilities  and  she  is  
always  into  trying  something  new  and  exploring  unusual  concepts  and  materializes  them  through  
innovative  tools.  I  think  this  is  a  main  ingredient  of  a  creative  person.  
 
I  truly  believe  that  the  further  specialization  will  provide  her  with  quality  education  that  will  help  her  
realize  her  potential.  She  is  a  very  adaptable  person  with  an  outgoing,  amiable  personality.  I  can  
recommend  her  with  great  confidence  for  further  specialization  and  advance  studies  would  definitely  
enhance  her  creativity  and  imagination.    
 
Sincerely,    
 
Ms.  ABC  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
E  X  A  M  P  L  E      T  W  O  
 
Dear  Dr.  XX  and  Internship  Selection  Committee,  
 
It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  write  to  recommend  Student  A  for  an  internship  in  the  Human  
Resources  department  at  Company  Z.    I  am  the  coordinator  of  a  program  at  Elon  called  PACE  (Providing  Aid  
through  Campus  Employment),  which  provides  a  select  group  of  talented  students  in  our  entering  classes  
with  the  opportunity  to  work  on  campus  to  earn  some  money  and  help  offset  the  expense  of  attending  
college.    Student  A  is  a  student  in  the  program  and,  quite  honestly,  one  of  the  very  best  I  have.  
 
My  relationship  with  Student  A  began  before  she  arrived  on  campus  in  the  fall  of  2012.    We  selected  
her  from  a  highly  competitive  group  of  students  wishing  to  be  part  of  the  PACE  program.    She  interviewed  
and  was  selected  for  a  position  in  the  Foreign  Languages  department,  where  she  handles  promotions  and  
publicity,  as  well  as  assists  multiple  professors  in  the  department  with  their  administrative  needs.    About  
mid-­‐way  through  the  fall  semester,  she  came  back  to  me  and  asked  if  there  were  other  opportunities  
available  to  her  to  earn  more  money,  as  she  takes  very  seriously  her  responsibility  to  contribute  as  much  as  
she  is  able  to  her  college  expenses.  One  of  the  jobs  that  was  available  was  to  work  alongside  our  
landscaping  crew,  tending  to  the  flowers,  shrubs,  and  gardens  on  our  campus.  Elon  University  is  a  
designated  botanical  garden,  and  we  take  great  pride  in  our  campus  appearance.    This  was  a  job  I  hadn’t  
been  able  to  “sell”  to  any  of  the  students  in  the  program.    Most  of  them  were  looking  for  more  traditional  
“student  worker”  jobs  and  I  think  many  of  them  may  have  felt  the  job  to  be  beneath  them.    But  not  Student  
A.  She  graciously  and  gratefully  accepted  the  job  and  is  currently  in  her  second  year  as  a  student  landscaper  
on  our  campus.    I  say  with  complete  sincerity  that  I  admire  Student  A  tremendously  and  the  landscaping  
crew  loves  her!  She  is  a  valued  and  trusted  part  of  their  team.    
 
 I  was  so  impressed  with  Student  A’s  work  ethic  and  sense  of  responsibility  that  I  invited  her  to  
serve  as  a  teaching  assistant  last  fall,  and  she  went  into  that  job  with  even  greater  enthusiasm  and  
dedication.    She  made  herself  available  to  the  students  in  the  class,  contributed  to  the  curriculum  and  
syllabus  and  achieved  very  high  marks  in  the  student  evaluations  at  the  end  of  the  semester.    She  works  
diligently  at  three  different  jobs  on  campus,  is  active  in  several  organizations,  holding  leadership  positions  
in  more  than  one  of  them,  all  while  maintaining  a  solid  GPA.    
 
Student  A  is  exceptional.    She  is  bright,  mature,  focused,  and  hard-­‐working.  She  is  organized  (she’d  
have  to  be  to  do  all  that  she  does!),  responsible  and  extremely  dependable.  But  perhaps  most  important,  
despite  all  of  her  many  undertakings,  she  remains  balanced.    I  think  very  highly  of  Student  A  as  a  person,  a  
student  and  as  an  employee  and  have  no  doubt  but  that  she  would  be  an  excellent  intern  at  Company  A.  
 
 I  recommend  Student  A  enthusiastically  and  without  reservation  for  an  internship  with  Company  
Z.  Please  feel  free  to  contact  me  if  I  may  answer  any  questions  you  might  have  about  Student  A.  
 
 
Respectfully  submitted,    
 
 
Jan  Doe  

ELON.EDU/CAREERS