The letter of recommendation is an important document for admission to graduate programs and some undergraduate programs in foreign universities. Theoretically, letters are drafted directly, recommending people, but in practice this rarely happens - the applicant writes the letter on behalf of another person: a teacher, a supervisor, an employer.
Choosing the author
An important step in working with a letter of recommendation: decide who the author will be - ideally, it is a person who belongs to the chosen specialty. But if you have worked in another position, the employer can write about personal qualities: punctuality, determination, attentiveness.
After choosing the author, discuss the details, find out what kind of letter he / she is willing to sign. Sometimes the author refuses to sign a letter for a "thank you" - to offer help with a project, a research paper. If the author signs the letter without reading it, notify him/her of the contents of the document.
Rules for writing a letter
- If 2-4 letters of recommendation are required, do not write them in the same template - this will raise suspicion of authorship and reduce your chances of admission.
- Don't contradict the documents: if you have a "good" or lower grade on your transcript for that major, don't write that you are the best student in the course
- Write about collaborative projects with the author. Specify what you have in common with your chosen major and what you can tell about yourself as a professional
- When writing a letter from your employer, mention the successful experiences and deals that characterize you positively.
- It is important that the recommendation letter is different from a motivation letter written on your behalf.
- If the author refuses to sign a letter written in a foreign language, write the document in your language and have it signed, then have it translated at the foreign office and stamped by the department.
Structure of the document
The letter of recommendation should take up a printed page, if the university requires you to write the document by hand - write a letter and ask the author to rewrite the text. The structure of the document should be as follows:
- A short paragraph introducing the applicant
- Description of strengths
- Explanation of deficiencies in the diploma or certificate transcript
- A brief conclusion with a summary.
In the "return address" column, provide the author's contact information and alert him or her that they may write or call from the university to clarify details of the document.
