| Copyright © Shaun R. Fawcett | | | | letters of reference: |
| | | | |
| As a result of writing literally hundreds of | | | | - "In my opinion, [name] is a hard-working |
| letters of reference over the years, I am | | | | self-starter who invariably understands |
| aware that there are certain common elements | | | | exactly what a project is all about." |
| and approaches that are applicable to almost | | | | |
| all such letters. | | | | - "[name] consistently produces high quality |
| | | | work in a timely fashion." |
| If you look closely at most reference and | | | | |
| recommendation letters you will notice that | | | | - "The only area of weakness that I ever |
| there are certain "types" of phrases that | | | | noted in [name]'s performance was..." |
| recur over and over again, throughout the | | | | |
| various letters. | | | | A typical letter of reference will normally |
| | | | include three to four assessment statements. |
| These statement types can be grouped into | | | | |
| three major categories: opening statements, | | | | CLOSING STATEMENTS |
| assessment statements, and closing | | | | |
| statements. These statements are the three | | | | The closing statement in a letter of |
| key components of any letter of reference. If | | | | reference should be one or two sentences at |
| you formulate these phrases well you are | | | | most, and it should make a clear statement of |
| guaranteed to have an excellent letter. | | | | recommendation that flows logically from the |
| | | | points made in the assessment part of the |
| OPENING STATEMENTS | | | | letter. They will often begin with transition |
| | | | phrases such as: "In summary...", "In |
| The opening statement in a letter of | | | | Closing,...", "Based on the foregoing,...", |
| reference should state the name of the person | | | | "Accordingly,...", etc. |
| being recommended. It can also explain why | | | | |
| you are the person writing the letter. The | | | | Closing statements in reference letters are |
| opening statement should normally be one | | | | generally positive, but in some circumstances |
| short sentence and should never exceed two | | | | they may be qualified, or sometimes, even |
| sentences. | | | | completely negative. |
| | | | |
| Following are three generic typical opening | | | | Following are three generic typical closing |
| statements for inclusion in reference | | | | statements for inclusion in reference |
| letters: | | | | letters: |
| | | | |
| - "I am writing this letter at the request of | | | | - "I am therefore very pleased to be able to |
| [name of requestor]." | | | | recommend [name] for..." |
| | | | |
| - "This is in response to your recent request | | | | - "Based on my time working with [name], I |
| for a letter of reference for [name]." | | | | recommend her very highly for..." |
| | | | |
| - "I am pleased to be able to write this | | | | - "I respect [name] as a colleague, but I |
| letter of reference for [name]." | | | | must say that in all honesty, I cannot |
| | | | recommend him for ..." |
| ASSESSMENT STATEMENTS | | | | |
| | | | In summary, mastering these three types of |
| Assessment statements in a letter of | | | | "reference letter power phrases" is one of |
| reference are those sentences and phrases | | | | the keys to writing all types of letters of |
| that contain the recommender's specific | | | | reference. As such, knowledge of how to write |
| assessment of the performance, | | | | typical opening, assessment, and closing |
| characteristics, and attributes of the person | | | | statements, as illustrated above, is |
| being recommended. | | | | essential to writing effective letters of |
| | | | reference. |
| Normally an assessment statement will be | | | | |
| followed up by one or two specific | | | | That's why I have included more than 150 |
| performance-related examples backing up the | | | | generic "Reference Letter Power Phrases" in |
| statement just made. | | | | the latest Revised Edition of Instant |
| | | | Recommendation Letter Kit - How To Write |
| Following are three generic typical | | | | Winning Letters of Recommendation. |
| assessment statements for inclusion in | | | | |