Writing Strong Recommendation Letters

Recommendation letters are the connective tissue of an evidence portfolio. Weak letters describe the applicant. Strong letters describe the work. This is preparation guidance, not legal advice.

The four things a strong letter does

1. Establishes the writer's standing. One short paragraph: role, field, why they are qualified to evaluate work at this level.
2. Describes how the writer knows the applicant. Independent letters — where the writer has no employment or financial relationship — carry more weight than internal manager letters.
3. Describes specific work in concrete terms. Not "brilliant engineer"; instead "led the redesign of X, which is now used by Y teams and reduced Z by N%." Dates, artefacts, outcomes.
4. Explains the significance to the field. Why does the work matter to peers outside the immediate team?

What to avoid

• Interchangeable praise ("hardworking, talented, dedicated") — reads as a character reference, not evaluation.
• Copy-pasted paragraphs across multiple letters. Adjudicators notice.
• Claims of eligibility ("clearly qualifies for the visa"). Adjudicators, not letter writers, decide eligibility.
• Letters that only recite the CV. If the letter adds nothing beyond the CV, it adds nothing.

A workable structure

• Paragraph 1: Writer's credentials and field standing.
• Paragraph 2: How they know the applicant, and for how long.
• Paragraphs 3–4: Two or three specific pieces of work, described concretely.
• Paragraph 5: Why that work matters to the field.
• Close: Signature, title, organisation, date, contact information.

See how letters map to specific criteria in the real examples library.