Letter of Recommendation Template and Examples

Someone just asked you to vouch for them, and now a blank page is staring back at you. A strong letter of recommendation isn't hard to write once you know the structure. It follows a predictable four-part shape, leans on two or three specific examples, and ends with a clear endorsement. This guide gives you a copy-ready template, two filled-in examples, and the small details that separate a memorable letter from a forgettable one.

What a Letter of Recommendation Is (and Isn't)

A letter of recommendation is a written endorsement in which you confirm your relationship to a person and testify to their skills, character, or performance. It's used for jobs, promotions, graduate school, scholarships, tenancy, professional licensing, and immigration.

It is not a resume in prose form. The reader already has the candidate's resume. Your job is to add the color a bullet-point list can't: how the person actually works, what they did under pressure, and why you'd choose them again. A letter that simply lists accomplishments wastes the one thing you uniquely offer, which is firsthand judgment.

Before you write, ask the candidate for three things: the role or program they're applying to, their current resume, and the two or three qualities they most want emphasized. This single step, recommended by university writing centers, is what turns a generic letter into a targeted one.

How Do I Write a Letter of Recommendation?

Write a letter of recommendation in four parts: an opening that states who you are and how you know the candidate, a body of two to three paragraphs built around specific examples, a closing with a direct endorsement, and a signature block with your contact details. Aim for one page (roughly 300 to 400 words), keep the tone confident but plain, and tailor the examples to whatever the person is applying for.

Here's the reasoning behind each part.

1. Open With Your Relationship and Credibility

The first line answers the reader's silent question: Why should I trust you? State your name, your title, how you know the candidate, and for how long. A hiring manager weighs a letter from a direct supervisor differently than one from a peer, so make the relationship explicit.

"I managed Priya Nair directly for three years as her department head at Halton Logistics, where she led our accounts-receivable team."

2. Build the Body Around Specific Examples

This is where most letters go soft. Adjectives like "hardworking" and "dedicated" mean nothing without evidence. Pick two or three qualities the candidate wants highlighted, then attach a concrete story to each one. Numbers, outcomes, and named situations do the persuading.

Weak: "She is a great problem-solver and very reliable."

Strong: "When a billing-system migration threatened to delay month-end close, Priya rebuilt the reconciliation process over a weekend and brought us in a day early. In three years she never missed a close."

Tailoring matters here. A letter for a job should emphasize workplace performance and results; one for graduate school should emphasize intellectual ability and curiosity; one for a scholarship should emphasize leadership and character. Match the examples to the destination.

3. Close With a Direct Endorsement

End with an unambiguous statement of support and an offer to say more. Vague endings ("I think she would do fine") read as lukewarm. State the strength of your recommendation plainly and invite follow-up.

"I recommend Priya without reservation and would gladly hire her again. Please contact me if I can provide any further detail."

4. Add a Complete Signature Block

Include your full name, title, organization, phone, and email. Missing contact details make a letter look unofficial and unverifiable. If it's a formal letter, print it on company letterhead and follow standard business letter format with the date and recipient address at the top.

Letter of Recommendation Template

Copy this and fill in the brackets.

[Your Name]
[Your Title, Company]
[Date]

[Recipient Name / "To Whom It May Concern"]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I am writing to recommend [Candidate Name] for [role, program, or purpose].
I have known [him/her/them] for [length of time] as [your relationship], during
which I [brief note on how you observed their work].

[Candidate Name] consistently demonstrated [quality one]. For example,
[specific situation, action, and measurable result].

[He/She/They] also stood out for [quality two]. [Second concrete example
tied to the opportunity they're pursuing.]

Beyond skills, [Candidate Name] is [character trait relevant to the role],
which showed when [brief supporting anecdote].

I recommend [Candidate Name] without reservation for [purpose]. Please feel
free to contact me at [phone] or [email] if I can offer any further detail.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Title, Company]
[Phone] · [Email]

Example 1: Job Recommendation

Dear Ms. Alvarez,

I'm pleased to recommend Daniel Osei for the Operations Manager role at Brightline Retail. As his regional director at Corewell Stores for four years, I saw him grow from shift lead to running our highest-volume location.

Daniel's strength is turning chaos into process. When our point-of-sale system failed during a holiday weekend, he set up a manual checkout flow within an hour and kept the store trading with zero lost sales that day. He later documented the workaround, and it became our company-wide backup procedure.

He's also the manager staff request to work under. In our annual survey, his team scored 27 points above the company average on "my manager supports my growth," and he promoted five people into leadership during his tenure.

I recommend Daniel without hesitation. You can reach me at (312) 555-0148 or j.reyes@corewell.example.

Sincerely, Jordan Reyes, Regional Director, Corewell Stores

Example 2: Academic Recommendation

To the Admissions Committee,

I am writing to support Mei Tanaka's application to your MBA program. I taught her in two upper-level economics courses and supervised her senior research project at Northgate University.

Mei has the rare combination of analytical rigor and clear communication. Her thesis on small-business lending gaps used original survey data and was later cited in our department's policy brief. She was the only undergraduate I've had present research to our faculty seminar.

She also leads quietly and effectively, organizing a peer study group that raised the whole cohort's average on our hardest exam. I recommend her enthusiastically and am happy to speak further.

Sincerely, Dr. Amara Okonkwo, Professor of Economics, Northgate University

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Being vague. Effusive praise with no examples reads as a favor, not an assessment.
Going too long. One page is the norm. Readers skim, so front-load the strongest example.
Agreeing to write a lukewarm letter. If you can't recommend someone honestly, it's kinder to decline. A tepid letter can hurt more than no letter.
Missing contact details. A letter no one can verify carries little weight.
Ignoring the ask. If the candidate flagged "leadership," don't write three paragraphs about punctuality.

Recommendation letters are one of several documents that keep a business running smoothly. If you also handle hiring and offboarding, our termination letter template and guide to hiring employees cover the paperwork on both ends of the employment cycle.

Conclusion

A good letter of recommendation is short, specific, and honest. State how you know the person, back your praise with two or three real examples, tailor those examples to what they're applying for, and end with a clear endorsement and your contact details. Follow the template above and you'll write something the reader actually trusts, in about twenty minutes.

Need more office documents ready to go? Browse our How-To Guides for templates and formatting walkthroughs you can copy today.

Sources: Coursera - How to Write a Letter of Recommendation, UNC Writing Center - Letters of Recommendation, UC Berkeley GSI Teaching & Resource Center.