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Originally posted by Peaches-n-Cream
I am in the process of writing a college letter of recommendation for a high school student. I have never done this before, and now I am stuck. I have written that the applicant will be an asset to college and reasons why. I'm not sure if this will suffice.
I have searched online for examples of letters of recommendation, but I have not found anything that applies in this case. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions that you have. Thank you very much for your help.
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Hi Peaches,
I have done quite a few recs for girls for various scholarships and other academic situations (like moving from college to college within the university or getting into a special program) --- I always go back to this template:
Writing a Letter of Recommendation
As an employer, coworker or friend, you may at some point in your career be called upon to write a letter of recommendation. If you are unsure about how to go about it or simply don't know what to say, here are some tips about what to include and how to structure a typical letter of recommendation. This advice may also be useful if you request a letter of recommendation from someone who is not familiar with how to write one.
First Paragraph -- Start out by specifying in what capacity and for how long you have know the person whom you are recommending. If the person is an employee or coworker, indicate the term of employment, the responsibilities of the position, and any significant projects undertaken by the individual. You may wish to include a sentence about the nature of your company and its activities. Here, you can also give a one-sentence summary or overview of your opinion of the recommended individual.
Second Paragraph -- In the next paragraph provide a more detailed evaluation of the person as an employee. Describe his or her performance on specific assignments and list any important accomplishments. What are the individual's strengths or shortcomings in the workplace? What was it like to interact with him or her?
Third Paragraph -- To sum things up you can make a more broad characterization of the individual and his or her demeanor. Overall, was the person responsible, polite, warm, disagreeable, lazy, spiteful? Finally, indicate the degree to which you recommend the individual for the position she or he is seeking: without reservation, strongly, with some reservation, or not at all.
Before writing the letter, you may want to ask the person for a list of his or her projects, since you probably will not be aware of all the work they've done. Finally, if you have not had much contact with the person, you may be better off declining to write the letter of recommendation, rather than putting together something vague and dispassionate. In addition to this I also ask their future plans and goals for life, tis information fits nicely into the last paragraph of the rec.
For additional help, refer to the following samples:
1. Strong Recommendation
2. Recommendation with Reservation
3. Recommendation from a Coworker
Samples can be found at http://resume.monster.com/articles/recommendation/