Letter of Recommendations : How to Prepare LOR

A Complete Guide for an Impeccable Letter of Recommendations

In this era of technological advancement where almost all the major dealings, transactions, application processes happen on the digital front, the credibility and authenticity of the people involved is often an area for concern. This concern is most adamant in the fields of education and employment. Almost all the major educational institutions now felicitate the entire admission process digitally.

And as a result, the claims made by the applicants are often needed to be verified. Hence, while seeking admission or scholarship in any institution, a potential candidate is required to produce various documents in order to solidify and validate his/her claims.

One such crucial and essential document that adds on to your application is a perfectly articulated letter of recommendation. As the name suggests, a recommendation letter acts as a testament to the eligibility and qualification claims made by a candidate either to secure a seat in any university or to get employment in an organization. In both the cases, the letter of recommendation plays a crucial role in validating your details and credentials.

Of late, a recommendation letter has emerged as a mandatory feature for many processes, for instance it is asked to be produced for a college admission or is also demanded from the candidate seeking employment. Therefore, whenever a letter of recommendation is asked to be produced, ensure to provide an authentic and appealing letter that adds substance to your application.

Since it has become a norm to attach a letter of recommendation along with an application form, many students find it difficult to produce an accurate and relevant letter. There are certain apprehensions and inhibitions that surround a recommendation letter regarding its structure, its content, about the people who must be issuing the letter.

The candidates seeking a letter of recommendation appear as clueless as the recommenders in lieu of absence of any set guideline or rules. The lack of clarity and the right approach are some of the prominent reasons behind the unsuccessful attempts to achieve the desired results.

Livewebtutors absolutely understands the importance and role of a well-crafted letter of recommendation. We realize how crucial and decisive role the recommendation letter plays in the future endeavor of a candidate and thus we have come up with this article where we give you a detailed step by step guide to purse an outstanding letter of recommendation that will not only help you achieve the desired outcome but will also reflect positively on your overall application.

To successfully accomplish the task of producing an infallible recommendation letter, there are certain things that need to be considered:

• The choice of appropriate and valuable references for your letter of recommendation.
• A short but convincing content to make the letter appealing and impressionable.
• Abiding by the proper structure and format of the letter.
• Accurate and authentic information to be included in the recommendation letter.

The above are some important points to be considered while working on your letter of recommendation. However, to make things a little less complicated, we will be dealing in a holistic manner with all the important aspects and dimensions that go in to creating a perfect letter of recommendation.

What and how important role does a letter of recommendation play for your profile?

As we have mentioned above that a letter of recommendation serves as a testimonial for a person’s candidature for the required job. However, the role of a recommendation letter is not only restricted to just providing authenticity to a person’s details. The role of a letter of recommendation is much more important and powerful. Yes, it is true that it provides validity to the concerned person’s resume but it also serves a deeper purpose of giving insight into the person’s character.

Any institution or organization considers the potential candidate’s characteristics to be of paramount importance and thus a valid and relevant letter of recommendation helps the organization or college to analyze the candidate on that aspect.

A recommendation letter, in short, is a reflection of one’ overall achievement in his/her life. It gives a brief glimpse of the candidate’s growth trajectory and thus helps the concerned organization and institution to take a just decision. It is commonly observed that many students undermine the decisive role that a recommendation letter plays for their future prospects.

And this callous attitude thus results in to producing an ineffective letter which does not help their application much. To comprehend and realize the importance of a letter of recommendation, we first must realize or know the prime objective behind the requirement of this particular letter.

For any application process, a candidate is required to submit a number of distinct documents and we consider a recommendation letter on the similar lines only, without realizing the crucial role of the letter. The main objective that a letter of recommendation serves is to give a personalized touch to a candidate’s application.

The letter is a testimony by the relevant people regarding the abilities and strengths of a candidate. The recommendation letter plays a decisive role as it helps the concerned authorities to make appropriate decisions and thus the letter could make or break your chances of being successful.

Therefore, whenever asked to produce a letter of recommendation, make sure to accomplish a perfect and true letter which must reflect your personality. Remember that choosing appropriate recommenders is half the battle won.

Choosing right and important people to include as references in your letter of recommendation is highly crucial. Another important point to remember is to maintain a perfect structure of the letter and format it accordingly. Also, pay close attention to the details provided in the letter. Remember that the letter must contain authentic and original details and credentials. Also, make sure to keep the letter appealing and convincing.

It must have strong tone and must speak loudly for yourself. A well-drafted letter is like a key to your brighter future, therefore use it wisely and work smartly on your letter of recommendation.

Types of Letter of Recommendations:

Before digging deep in to the nitty-gritties of the essential aspects of a letter of recommendations, let us look at the prominent types of recommendations letter that are usually asked from any potential candidate. A brief knowledge about various types of letter of recommendation will help one to cater to a particular letter accordingly. It will also help structure the letter in accordance to its requirements.

A general awareness about the distinction between several types of recommendation letters will help the candidate to select appropriate recommenders depending upon the demands that the letter will thus require. Following are some important types of recommendation letter:

• Academic Letter of Recommendation: This type of recommendation letter is most common yet the most important. A letter of recommendation is now a mandatory requirement in almost all academic institutions either for admission purposes or for scholarship candidature. This type of letter is generally issued by the previous academic institution that the candidate attended. It particularly includes the general information about the character of the concerned candidate.
• In this recommendation letter, the recommender has to include the qualifications of the candidate, his/her overall academic performance, the achievements thus accrued by the candidate. It also include some insights on the candidate’s characteristics like the general behavior, the strengths and weaknesses that the candidate might possess. An academic recommendation letter is used by a student to apply in institutions for higher studies. And thus, a good recommendation letter holds immense importance for a student’s future prospective.
• Employment-Related Letter of Recommendation: Now, this type of recommendation letters are extremely important for potential job seekers. A recommendation letter has now become a pre-requisite for many organizations to offer job to any potential candidate. These letters help the respective employers to get an insight in to the characteristics of their prospective employee.
• A recommendation letter thus serves dual purpose for any hiring firm – one, it helps it to verify the claims made by the candidate about the said qualification and experience, and second, it helps them to get an insight in to the candidate’s overall behavior and character. Therefore, an employment-related letter of recommendation is a formal letter issued by the candidate’s former colleagues.
• It must include the candidate’s experience details and his role in the organization. Also, the letter must include a candidate’s positive traits and qualities that will help him/her to make a good impression on the prospective employer.
• Character References: Now, this is not a letter of recommendation per se but somewhat caters to similar purposes. A character reference is required in some specific situation where the seeker has to obtain some insights in to his/her character. It may be required by a landlord before leasing the property to someone unknown, or it may be required by some child care facility before letting a person adopt a child, or it may also be required in some special job profiles where overall assessment of the candidate is required.
• A character reference, in general, includes insights on the behavioral characteristics of the concerned person. It is mostly a decisive and crucial piece of information required for number of purposes.

Essential Guidelines to Ensure an Impressive Letter of Recommendation:

We understand that even the name ‘letter of recommendation’ makes the students and professionals anxious. And it is natural to be so. However, most of the candidates seeking a recommendation letter remain confused and concerned because of the lack of insight on what goes in to creating or ensuring an infallible letter of recommendation.

And if you are also the one getting anxious over a recommendation letter, then do not be. As Livewebtutors completely understands your concerns and thus provide to you a step by step guideline to get that perfect letter of recommendation that you have always been wanting to:

• Getting Started: Well, anything to be accomplished requires a strong start. Usually, a letter of recommendation is issued by a person in some authority, therefore, make sure that an appropriate letter head is used in order to emphasize the relevance and value of the recommender. Then, ensure that the recommender starts by giving an introduction.
• In the introduction, details about the recommender must be included, such as the name, designation, the role of the recommender in the respective organization and contact information. Henceforth, the recommender must gradually build upon the concerned person by introducing him/her. Remember that the introduction must be short and crisp.
• Gradually build on the Body: After the brief introduction, the letter must start with the main body of the document. Here, important information regarding the person concerned must be included like the qualification of the person, his/her role in contributing towards the betterment of the organization.
• It must include the person’s value from the previous organization’s view point. And if it is an academic letter of recommendation, then the recommender might include the fact about how the person in concern was different from other students.
• Here, general traits of the person must be mentioned as in what makes that person a valuable asset for any organization or institution and why the person is a deserving candidate.
• The Stand apart Qualities: After giving a brief sketch about the candidate, the recommender must proceed on to mention the prominent qualities of the concerned candidate. This segment of the letter must include all the major achievements of the candidate that he/she must have experienced during the tenure in previous organization.
• Here, mention about the qualities in the candidate that make him/her stand out from the rest of the people. The qualities that must be focused include – the knowledge and expertise of the candidate in the particular field, the quality of perseverance, critical and out of the box thinking, competent communication and written skills, the ability to work as a good team player, self-motivation driven growth, creativity, discipline, etc.
• A mere mention about these qualities inhibits the confidence in the candidate and also reflects positively on his/her commitment towards the assigned work. The important point to remember here is that do not oversell by writing in an excessively appealing way. The approach must be neutral and convincing.
• Insights on the Person’s Characteristics: This segment of the letter must include an insight on the behavioral aspects of the person in concern. The recommender here must talk about some characteristics about the person. It must include the person’s reaction and approach towards any problem that he/she might face related to the work. Mention about how the candidate behaves in pressure situations or where a certain task has to be accomplished within a set time limit.
• Here, the use of one or two anecdotes may help bring out the personal feel to the letter. The recommender may also include his/her experience of working with the concerned person.
• The Conclusion: This segment is the wrap up of the entire letter. Here, the recommender must conclude by mentioning some of the strengths and weaknesses that he/she might have observed while working with the candidate.
• Finally, as a closing note, the recommender might include one or two lines appreciating the candidate based on the qualities and positive traits mentioned in the letter about the candidate. It may also include some important qualities or traits of the person that make him/her the desired candidate for the job.
• The Format: It is one important and crucial area which many students or professionals give a miss. It is important to realize here that a perfect format is essential and vital for a commendable letter of recommendation. A proper format ensures the professionalism attached to the letter. T
• herefore, it is highly advised to all the students to follow standard format while dealing with a recommendation letter. Certain important dimensions to focus here are – using white plain sheets for writing the letter, using a legible and uniform font throughout the document, ensuring proper structure of the letter, etc.
• These are not the set rules but are general and standard practices followed by the professionals.
• The Language: Another important area is the language used in the letter. It must be noted here that a letter of recommendation is a formal document and therefore demands a formal language to be used. However, many candidates confuse the formal language with heavy vocabulary and thus they resort to the use of fancy language in order to add emphasis to their letter. But this apprehension does not hold any ground.
• The use of simple and fluid language is highly appreciated and encouraged. Therefore, use simple and easy language in the letter. It helps in imparting the message clearly and also makes the document easy for the reader.
• Verification of the Information: Now when your letter of recommendation is prepared, it is now time to give it a re-read. Start by proof reading the letter and look for any possible grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. Try and accomplish a near perfect letter. Then gradually revisit the information included in the letter and verify for it to be true. Also, check the contact information shared by the recommender. All the information included in the letter must be valid and authentic.

The above are some important points to be remembered while dealing with a letter of recommendation. As it is mentioned earlier also, there are no set rules of creating a recommendation letter therefore, the above mentioned are suggestive in nature and are aimed to guide the person to create an effective recommendation letter. All the potential letter seekers are advised and encouraged to modify as per their wishes and requirements. Just remember the objective of a letter of recommendation and thus work towards accomplishing a brilliant one.

Choosing Livewebtutors as your guide to accomplish a perfect recommendation letter:

The mandatory and crucial requirement of a letter of recommendation makes it inevitable for the students or professionals to seek external help. If you are also looking for some professional help to produce a brilliant letter of recommendation, then Livewebtutuors is your place. We have a team of experienced and aptly qualified writers who will provide you excellent guidance in acquiring a perfect recommendation letter. Our experts are completely aware about the essential requirements of a recommendation letter and thus help you thoroughly to produce a perfect letter.

To avail our professional services in creating a perfect letter of recommendation for yourself, you just need to provide some basic details: the details of your recommenders, your basic qualification and experience details and the organization or institution for which you are seeking the letter. Just provide us with these details and your work ends here. Based on the details provided by you, our experts create a relevant recommendation on your behalf. The expert writers at Livewebtutuors are well aware about the contents of a perfect letter and thus strive hard to produce a brilliant letter based on your requirements. The letter we thus produce is then sent to you for acknowledgement and revision and the final letter is delivered after making required changes. Another feature that makes Livewebtutors stand apart is the active and constant support staff which is readily available to our customers round the clock. We ensure that you do not have to struggle once you join us. Our experts are available for you whenever you require their guidance.

Livewebtutors understands the dilemma and concerns that surround students and thus has curated its services in accordance with the requirements of the students. We understand the importance of any academic assignment for a student and thus strive very hard to produce an infallible document on your behalf. We make sure that the document we provide to you must reflect highly on your scores.

All these impeccable services at affordable prices is what makes Livewebtutors the first choice among many students and professionals. We understand how crucial a good assignment is to a student and hence try to make our services within reach of every deserving candidate. Many students have joined Livewebtutors to improve their academic progress. You may also want to join the revolution and see the change for yourself. Try Livewebtutors for once and all your worries and concerns regarding any college assignment will be resolved.