6 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Writing a Letter of Recommendation (LOR)

A Letter of Recommendation is an important document that has a considerable impact on an individual's admission to a university. It essentially serves as a supporting document for the statements you make in your CV, or statement of purpose. It is often used to evaluate and assess individuals’ credibility among the third-party. Students should never undervalue this document because it contributed significant weight to your university application.

Have a look at 6 Common Mistakes that Students Tend to make when Writing their Letter of Recommendation:

• Wrong choice of the recommenders: The choice of recommenders is the most critical decision a student has to make. The recommenders should be someone who knows your strengths, capabilities, and should be competent enough to present your weaknesses in the most subtle manner in the LOR. Choose recommenders who consider and speak highly about you, as that certainly will be reflected in the LOR. Always choose a recommender whom you believe will be able to offer a comprehensive view of you through their letter. Your potential recommender should be completely informed of and confident in what they are going to write in the LOR. A wrong choice of recommenders will mess up the entire letter of recommendation and this may ruin your chances of admission.
• Not giving the recommender adequate time: Most students tend to inform their recommender at the last moment, not giving them sufficient time to draft the letter of recommendation. This results in an unsatisfactory LOR and shall lower the likelihood of you securing a admission in the university. You can avoid this mistake by informing your recommenders at least one month prior to the submission and keep reminding them frequently.
• Not validating with relevant examples: A recommendation letter that only discusses general topics without any relevant examples or situations will fail miserably to make an impression or convince the admissions committee. Thus, it is advised that the recommender validates their point by giving suitable examples or instances. For example, “Arjun demonstrated exception skills in marketing activities.” – instead of merely stating this, it is expected that the recommender writes about situations where the student has demonstrated their skills and how his skills has benefitted the organization. Such relevant examples make a letter of recommendation trustworthy and will foster a positive reputation among the admission committee members.
• Ignoring the areas for improvement: You should make sure that your letter of recommendation does not only talk positively about you and portrays that you have accomplished everything possible. The members of the admission committee are a group of qualified personnel and can identify the difference between what is genuine and what is made up. As a result, inform your recommender to include your weaknesses or areas of improvement to establish a balance between strengths and weaknesses in the LOR.
• Usage of a cold tone and incorrect language: It is important to note that the tone used in the letter of recommendation should be calm and warm, as the panel member reading the LOR should feel receiving. A frigid, impersonal tone devalues the recommendation letter and leads the reader to feel bored while reading it. Instead of addressing you as “the applicant”, it is advised that the recommender addresses you by your full name in the beginning and by your first name in the rest of the letter.

  It is important to ensure that the language used in the document is politically correct and is without any errors. Any spelling mistake in the document may raise doubts on the credibility of the person who is suggesting you. Therefore, re-check your LOR before submitting it.

• Writing a LOR by yourself: You should avoid writing your own letter of recommendation. The members of the admission committee are smart enough to identify when you draft your own LOR. This may result in rejection or blacklisting of your application. Any student who presents an authentic letter has a better chance than those who offer falsifies LORs.

Make certain to avoid these 6 mistakes while drafting your Letter of Recommendation.