How to Write a Strong Letter of Recommendation
A five-section template structure and evidence patterns for effective recommendation letters across various applications.
The exact change
"I can tell within two paragraphs whether a letter was written by someone who knows the candidate well or by someone who is doing a favor. The tell is always the specificity of the examples, never the volume of the adjectives." Adam Grant, Wharton School [...] "Numbers in a recommendation letter function as honesty markers. A recommender who tells you where a student ranks against a specific pool is someone who has actually thought about the comparison. A recommender who uses only adjectives is hedging, whether they realize it or not." Liz Ryan, human workplace advocate
Admissions and hiring professionals often say they can tell within a couple of paragraphs whether a recommendation letter was written by someone who genuinely knows the candidate or by someone doing a favor, and that the tell is usually the specificity of the examples rather than the volume of adjectives. [...] Career advocates like Liz Ryan have made the case that specific numbers in a recommendation letter function as a kind of honesty marker: a recommender who places a candidate against a specific comparison pool has clearly thought it through, while one who relies only on adjectives may be hedging without realizing it.
Why this is better
Unverified quote attributed to Adam Grant. This exact quote could not be verified in his published work or public statements found via web search.; unverified quote attributed to Liz Ryan. This exact quote could not be verified in her published work or public statements found via web search.
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