Letter of recommendation template and examples

TL;DR

A letter of recommendation follows a simple structure you can reuse: an opening that says who you are and how you know the person, a paragraph on how long and in what capacity you have known them, one or two paragraphs with specific strengths backed by real examples, a clear line that you recommend them, and a sign-off with your contact details.

Being asked to write a letter of recommendation is a small kind of pressure. Someone trusts you enough to vouch for them, you want to do right by them, and then you face a blank page and a deadline. The good news is that a strong letter of recommendation is mostly structure. Once you know the parts and have a couple of real examples to work from, the writing goes quickly. This guide gives you the format, a template you can copy, full examples for the most common situations, and the one habit that separates a letter that helps from one that gets skimmed: using specific, true details instead of general praise.

What is a letter of recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is a letter written by someone who knows a person's work or character, addressed to an employer, a school, or a committee, that supports that person's application. You are, in effect, lending your own credibility to someone else. Teachers write them for students applying to college, managers write them for employees moving on or up, and colleagues write them for peers.

It is worth clearing up two terms people mix up. A letter of recommendation is usually detailed and tied to a specific opportunity, like a particular job or degree program. A professional reference letter is often more general, a shorter confirmation of someone's skills and conduct that can be reused for several applications. Both are different from a cover letter, which a candidate writes about themselves to sell their own fit for a role. If you are the one applying rather than the one writing, our post on cover letter examples covers that side.

The standard format of a letter of recommendation

Most recommendation letters share the same shape, which is why a template works so well. A standard letter of recommendation has six parts, and it fits on a single page.

1. Greeting and opening. Address the reader if you know them ("Dear Ms. Carter") or use "To whom it may concern" if you do not. Open by saying who you are, your role, and that you are recommending the person for the specific opportunity.
2. How you know them. State your relationship, how long you have known the person, and in what capacity, so the reader knows your praise is grounded.
3. Key strengths with examples. This is the body, usually one or two paragraphs. Give two or three strengths, and back each one with a concrete example rather than an adjective.
4. A standout quality. Name the one thing that sets the person apart, ideally with a short comparison ("one of the top two analysts I have managed in ten years").
5. A clear recommendation. Say plainly that you recommend them, and how strongly. Do not make the reader guess.
6. Sign-off and contact details. Close with an offer to answer questions, then your name, title, and a way to reach you.

A letter of recommendation template

Here is a letter of recommendation template you can copy and fill in. Replace everything in brackets, and cut any line that does not fit.

[Date]

Dear [Reader's name, or "To whom it may concern"],

I am pleased to recommend [Name] for [the role, program, or opportunity]. My name is [Your name], and I am [your title] at [organization], where I have worked with [Name] for [length of time] as their [manager / teacher / colleague].

In that time, [Name] has stood out for [first strength]. For example, [specific example with a number or result]. They are also [second strength]: [specific example].

What sets [Name] apart is [standout quality]. [Short comparison or concrete evidence that backs it up.]

I recommend [Name] without reservation for [the opportunity], and I am confident they will [the result the reader cares about]. Please feel free to contact me at [email or phone] if I can share anything more.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your title, organization]
[Contact details]

How to write a letter of recommendation, step by step

Knowing how to write a letter of recommendation comes down to a few steps that keep it specific and honest.

• Ask for the details first. Before you write, ask the person for their resume, the job or program description, and any points they would like you to mention. You cannot write a tailored letter from memory alone.
• Open with your relationship. Lead with who you are and how you know the person, because that is what gives the rest of the letter weight.
• Trade adjectives for evidence. Instead of "hardworking," write what they actually did. A line like "rebuilt our onboarding checklist and cut new-hire ramp time from six weeks to three" says far more than a list of nice words.
• Match the letter to the opportunity. Pick the strengths that matter for the specific role or program. A letter for a research degree should highlight different things than one for a sales job.
• End with a clear endorsement. State that you recommend the person and how strongly, so the reader is not left guessing.
• Proofread and keep it to a page. Check the names, the dates, and the title of the opportunity, and cut anything that is filler.

The difference between a forgettable letter and a strong one is almost always specifics. Vague praise reads as a favor; concrete examples read as evidence.

Letter of recommendation examples by relationship

The structure is the same, but the voice and the details change with who you are and who you are writing for. Here are three letter of recommendation examples you can adapt.

Letter of recommendation for an employee (from a manager)

Use this when you are a manager and need a letter of recommendation for employee applications, written for someone moving to a new job.

Dear Ms. Alvarez,

I am glad to recommend Daniel Okafor for the Operations Manager role at Brightline Logistics. I am Priya Shah, Director of Operations at Meridian Freight, where I managed Daniel directly for four years.

Daniel joined us as a coordinator and was promoted twice on the strength of his results. He redesigned our dispatch process and cut average delivery delays by 22 percent in a single quarter, and he did it while training two new coordinators who are now among our strongest.

What sets Daniel apart is how calm he stays under pressure. During a warehouse system outage last year, he kept our largest accounts informed hour by hour and we did not lose a single one. In ten years of managing operations teams, he is one of the two best people I have worked with.

I recommend Daniel without reservation. He will raise the standard of any team he joins. Please reach me at [email protected] if I can tell you more.

Sincerely,
Priya Shah
Director of Operations, Meridian Freight

Letter of recommendation for a student (from a teacher)

Use this when you are a teacher or professor and need a letter of recommendation for student applications to a program or scholarship.

To whom it may concern,

I am pleased to recommend Mei Tan for admission to your undergraduate engineering program. I am Robert Ellis, and I taught Mei in AP Physics and supervised her robotics team for two years at Lincoln High School.

Mei is one of the most capable students I have taught in fifteen years. She earned the highest grade in a class of 120 and, more tellingly, spent her own lunch periods tutoring four classmates who went on to pass the course. On the robotics team she led the design that placed second at the state championship.

What stands out about Mei is her curiosity. She asks the question the rest of the class has not thought of yet, and she follows it until she understands. That instinct is exactly what strong engineering students are made of.

I recommend Mei with my full confidence. She will make the most of the opportunity you offer her. I am happy to answer any questions at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Robert Ellis
Physics Teacher, Lincoln High School

Letter of recommendation for a colleague or peer

Use this when a coworker at your own level asks you to vouch for them and you cannot speak as their manager.

To whom it may concern,

I am happy to recommend Jordan Fields for the Senior Designer position at Northwind Studio. Jordan and I worked side by side as product designers at Cloudbank for three years, so I can speak to their work from up close rather than from above.

Jordan is the person our team turned to when a project was stuck. When our checkout redesign stalled, they ran a two-day working session that got the whole team aligned, and the new flow lifted completed purchases by 15 percent. They are also generous with feedback, which quietly made everyone around them better.

What I value most about Jordan is their reliability. If they say a piece of work will be ready, it is ready, and it is good. That is rarer than it should be.

I recommend Jordan wholeheartedly and would gladly work with them again. Feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Sam Reyes
Product Designer

How to ask for a letter of recommendation

If you are on the other side and need someone to write one for you, make it easy for them. Ask in good time, pick someone who knows your work well, and give them your resume, the job or program details, and a short note on what you would like them to highlight. The more specific material you hand over, the stronger and faster the letter. While you are preparing applications, it also helps to have the rest of your materials ready: our posts on how to make a resume stand out and the questions to ask in an interview cover the steps around the letter.

Adapt the letter to the person and the situation

A template gets you started, but a letter that sounds copied from a template will not help anyone. Before you send it, adapt it in two ways.

First, match the tone to the reader. A scholarship committee or a large company's HR team expects a formal letter with full titles and measured language. A small company or a startup usually reads warmer, plainer writing as a better fit, so you can let a little personality through while staying professional. If you can, look at the organization's website or social media to get a feel for how they talk, and write toward that.

Second, make the examples true and specific to this person. The strength of a recommendation comes from details only you could know, so swap every placeholder for a real moment, a real number, or a real result. A letter built from your own observations will always beat a polished template filled with generic lines.

Conclusion

A letter of recommendation is easier to write than it feels, because the structure does most of the work. Start from the letter of recommendation template, follow the six parts, and spend your effort on specific, honest examples rather than on finding bigger adjectives. Match the tone to whoever will read it, keep it to a page, and you will hand the person a letter that actually helps them.

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