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By Ali Hale
At some point in life, youre almost certainly going to have to write a reference letter
for someone. It might be a former employee or student, or even a family friend. Heres
what you need to know about the purpose of reference letters and how to write the
most effective letter possible.
Note: I will be using candidate to refer to the person who the reference letter is
about, you to refer to the person writing the reference letter, and recipient to
refer to the person receiving the letter. Ill emphasise here, though, that reference
letters are not only for job or academic candidates, its just a handy term to use to
keep this article straightforward!
What is a reference letter and when are they used?
A reference letter is usually written to testify to a person or (occasionally) a
companys skills, character and/or achievements. Sometimes a reference letter is
known as a recommendation letter. It is a formal document, and should be typed
and written in a serious and business-like style.
Reference letters are used in a wide variety of situations; there is no definitive list that
covers all possible scenarios. The most common examples are:
When a candidate applies for a job, they may need a reference to support their
application.
If an interviewee is given a job offer, they may need to supply a reference letter
before the contract can be signed.
A student applying for an academic course often requires a reference letter to
support their application.
A student applying for funding will often need to supply reference letters.
Companies may use reference letters as testimonies to their trustworthiness and
ability to carry out a job well.
Prospective tenants may need to provide their landlord with a reference letter,
testifying to their good financial status. (This could be from a prior landlord or
from a current employer.)
Who should write a reference letter?
If you are approached and asked to write a reference letter for a job candidate, a
student or a company, consider whether you can legitimately do so. A reference
letter is a formal document, and it is crucial that you do not lie or fudge the truth in it,
or there could be legal repercussions. If someone wants a reference letter from you:
The candidate should be someone you know reasonably well. For example, you
cannot provide any authoritative comment on the academic ability of a student
whos only been attending your lectures for a week.
You should know the candidate in a capacity which gives you the ability to
write a meaningful reference. For example, if you have worked with the person,
it would be appropriate for you to write a reference letter to a prospective
employer for them.
You should be able to provide an honest and positive reference. If you truly feel
that the candidate has no good qualities for you to emphasis, or if you have had
a personality clash with them in the past, you should tell them to seek a
reference letter from someone else.
What goes into a reference letter?
The exact structure of a reference letter will differ slightly depending on the type of
reference it is, but this is a good basic outline:
1. Start using the business letter format: put the recipients name and address, if
known, and address them as Dear [name]. If the recipient is currently
unknown (this would be likely on an academic application, for instance), then
use Dear Sir/Madam or To whom it may concern.
2. It is often helpful to introduce yourself in the first couple of lines of your letter.
The recipient will not need your life history: just give a brief sentence or two
explaining your position and your relationship to the candidate.
3. Your next paragraph should confirm any facts which you know the candidate
will be supplying along with your letter. For example, if you are writing a
reference for a job applicant, some or all of these details may be appropriate:
Whatever you do whether youre a student, employed in an office job, or working as a freelancer
I can guarantee that at some point in your life, youll need to sit down and write a formal business
letter.
It might be to a customer, to an employer with a job that you want, or to apply for university funding.
Perhaps itll even be to a literary agent or publisher who just might take on your undiscovered novel.
Of course, youll want the letter to be well-written but almost as important is knowing how to format
it correctly. This article is about US business letter format (for UK readers, dont worry, Ill be writing a
follow-up one for you.)
The main formats for business letters in the US are called full block format and modified block
format.
Full block format means that all the elements of the letter are left-justified so that the start of
each line is at the left-hand margin. This is the more formal style, so use it if youre unsure which to
go for.
Modified block format means that some elements of the letter are shifted over to the right.
Nowadays, this style is appropriate in most contexts.
Lets break those down into the main elements, in top-to-bottom order:
Your Address
Your address, also known as the return address, should come first. (Note that this applies when
using standard plain paper. If you have letter headed paper, you should omit this.)
123 Acacia Avenue
Newtown
Anywhere
AN 98765
Your return address should be positioned:
The Date
Directly beneath your address, put the date on which the letter was written:
May 15, 2008
To avoid any confusion, especially if you are writing to a business abroad, it is best to put the date in
word rather than number form, and you should omit the th.
The date should be positioned on the left-hand side, for full block format and for modified block
format
Why put the date? Its standard practice to include the date on which the letter was written.
Correspondence is often filed in date order. It makes it much easier for the recipient to send a timely
reply, and easier for you to chase up an answer if necessary. Eg. In my letter of May 15
Reference Line
Ive not included this on the diagram as guidance varies on where it should be placed.
You may include a reference line, starting with Re: This is often used when corresponding with
large companies, or when applying for a job. The reference line can either appear beneath the date,
OR beneath the recipients address.
If you use a reference line, you should usually omit the subject line (see below).
The reference line should be left-aligned for both full and modified block formats.
Why put a reference line? You should use a reference line if the recipient has requested specific
information, such as a job number or invoice number, or if youre replying to a letter. This makes it
easier for the recipient to get a speedy response to you.
The Greeting
After their address, you should leave a lines space then put Dear Mr Jones, Dear Bob or Dear
Sir/Madam as appropriate. Follow this with a colon.
The greeting, sometimes called the salutation, should always be left-aligned.
Why put a greeting? Business letters are a formal type of writing, and its considered polite to start
with a greeting. Although you can get away with starting emails Hi or Hello, letters follow more
conservative conventions.
The Subject
Optionally, you may wish to include a subject for your letter. This is becoming more common,
perhaps as people have become used to the subject lines of emails. If you do put a subject line, it
should be in uppercase, directly below the Dear name:
The subject (if you include one) should be left-aligned for full block format, but can be either left
aligned or centred for modified block format.
Why put the subject? Its a good idea to include a subject so that the recipient can see at a glance
what the letter refers to. Try to be succinct but include as much information as possible, eg. Funding
application from Joe Bloggs, candidate 222-456.
Now, finally, you can write the main body of your letter. Your text should have:
The Closing
After the body of text, your letter should end with an appropriate closing phrase and a comma. The
safest option is Yours faithfully (when you dont know the name of the person to whom you are
writing, ie. when you began Dear Sir/Madam) or Yours sincerely (when you do know their name).
If you are already acquainted with the recipient, it may be appropriate to use a phrase such as Best
regards, With warmest regards, or Kind regards.
The closing should be:
should put the letters p.p. before their name, which stands for the Latin per procurationem meaning
by agency.
Enjoy writing your letters, and use the examples above to help you with the formatting if you do get
stuck.