What is a Letter of Recommendation (LOR)? - Types, Format, Writing Tips

The Letter of Recommendation (LOR) is a document that provides the admission officers with a comprehensive insight into your suitable candidature for admission into the concerned University. It aims to provide a favourable picture of your academic performance, strengths, experiences, achievements, contributions, and skills. An official person recommends the applicant for their choice of course. Get all the details about LOR in this article.

Writing or requesting a letter of recommendation to submit along with university applications abroad can be a task. But one must understand LOR's meaning and how it should be drafted, what are the best writing practices and most importantly, how to choose a recommender. We have included all these details in this article to aid students when curating their LORs. Check out the article now. 

What is LOR Meaning?

LOR meaning suggests a written document that gives the admissions committee (Ad Com) a thorough understanding of your qualifications for admission to the relevant university. It seeks to present a positive image of your academic standing and the recommender’s observations, experiences, accomplishments, contributions, and abilities. Qualified people write this letter to explain why you are a good fit and attest to your potential because they have professional experience and the authority to evaluate your performance.

LOR Full Form

An LOR, or a Letter of Recommendation, may hold the key to opening up new career and academic prospects for you. It is a monument to your potential and abilities written by someone who knows you well. The perfect letter of recommendation can greatly improve your application, whether you are looking for a scholarship or a higher academic program. To assist you in getting that much-needed recommendation, we examine the types of LORs and their structures and offer valuable writing tips in this article.

Types of Letter of Recommendation 

Letters of Recommendation can be broadly classified into two categories based on the nature of the recommender, ad each LOR meaning varies from one another; check out below:

1. Academic Letter of Recommendation (LOR)

How to get a LOR from College: An academic LOR is a letter provided by a faculty member of your current or previous educational institution. Usually, universities ask you to provide two or three LORs from your previous institution. If you are applying for undergraduate courses, these may be your teachers from your school; if you are applying for Master’s or doctoral programs, they could be your college professors or HODs. The Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Format from Faculty often varies in content and requires the professor to highlight the applicant’s accomplishments as a course student. Often, these are more relevant to MS Colleges Abroad or Bachelor’s Courses abroad.

2. Professional Letter of Recommendation (LOR)

Most MBA colleges abroad have pre-defined work experience requirements. Accordingly, they request a Professional Letter of Recommendation from an immediate supervisor. The Professional Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Format from a Supervisor varies from an Academic LOR in terms of meaning and some specific content that focuses on the applicant’s ability to work within a team, the exposure to the domain as well as his/her leadership abilities, all necessary to the MBA course applied for.

Why do you need a Letter of Recommendation?

LOR Application: Any student planning to study overseas has to submit an LOR form or a letter of recommendation to the university. You will require at least two to three LORs from your college or professional background, regardless of the course (UG, MS, MBA, or PhD) or country. It is necessary to submit LORs with admission applications abroad because:

• It helps the admission committee assess the applicant's skills, passion, commitment and potential for studying abroad.
• Also based on an LOR, applications can be upgraded with direct references about how applicants have shaped their academic journey despite challenges.
• LOR that defines the applicant's overall journey and abilities through anecdotes can leave a good impression on the admission committees.
• Effective LORs can act as power boosters for the admission application, given that the recommender shares his/her ideas. 

UG students can obtain LORs from the school's principal, teachers, or counsellor. Letters of recommendation can be written for MS students by college instructors, internship supervisors, team leads, or managers from the organization they have worked for. LORs for MBA candidates should only be professional, particularly if they have three years or more of experience. Recently graduated college students aspiring to get an MBA or PhD might request LORs from project supervisors, instructors, or project advisors.

How to write a Letter of Recommendation (LOR)?: Some Important Tips

LOR Certificate: Unless specified otherwise, a letter of recommendation is a 400-500-word letter discussing a candidate’s strengths and achievements. There are some things you must include in a recommendation letter, such as the nature of the association and its tenure. Apart from that, some basic formats must also be kept in mind.

• Most universities require this letter to be on the official letterhead.
• For an Academic LOR, the university’s letterhead is required; for a Professional LOR, the company's letterhead is needed.
• In the latter instance, it is crucial to remember that the recommender’s letterhead should be associated with the company where they are employed. If your recommender has moved on to another organization, this usually poses a difficulty. Hence, the student must know how to choose the right recommender.
• An important point is that a LOR is not a repetition of an SOP.
• An ideal LOR is supposed to demonstrate aspects/perspectives of your personality that are not mentioned in your SOP or resume. Therefore, the perfect recommender knows you well, has seen the calibre of your work, and is willing to share particular examples of your exceptional work and valued contribution.
• A generic LOR is a strict no-no, as it does not offer much value to your candidature for the program you are applying. Therefore, strong examples form the core of a good LOR.
• Remember that your application is one of the thousands the admission committee reviews for each intake. Now, to make a statement, concentrate on showcasing your attributes and achievements supported by actual experiences.
• Another crucial thing to remember is to try to make each LOR distinctive. You can only do that by including instances exclusive to that particular recommender in every LOR.
• Making an Impressive Letter of Recommendation is as important as writing a winning SOP. Remember the formats in mind and the common mistakes you should avoid in a recommendation letter. The recommendation letters for different courses need to be written accordingly.

Here are some examples to help you navigate easily:

How to Format a Letter of Recommendation?: Shiksha Guidelines

Out of all the formats and sample LORs available online, one is faced with a dilemma in choosing the right format. As previously mentioned, there are different kinds of recommendation letters depending on the course and the recommender. In addition to this, it is crucial to focus on the document’s formatting and content. Before getting on about the LOR format, let us understand the elements of an LOR Below:

Components of a Letter of Recommendation

Ideally, a few components of a recommendation letter must include:

1. Introduction:

The letter's introduction must lighten the recommender's relationship to the applicant. This must include the years the applicant has been known, taught, or worked under the recommender. 

2. Qualifications and Skills of Recipient:

This section is from where the actual recommendation letter takes form. Here, the recommender provides more context or specific details about the individual's qualifications, skills, accomplishments, and relevant experiences. This, in turn, helps the admission committee with a more tailored and effective elaboration that includes specific examples and anecdotes to highlight their strengths and capabilities.

3. Personal Attributes of Recipient:

The letter of recommendation for students must also include study/work ethic, integrity, communication skills, teamwork abilities, problem-solving skills and leadership qualities.

4. Recommendation for the Recipient:

This is the most important aspect of an LOR for a student. Here, the recommender can include why he/she feels the student/recipient is a good fit for the program and any particular anecdotes to help Ad Coms understand why. Also, highlight skills showcased before deemed fit for the applicant's admission abroad.

5. Closing Statement:

The LOR should have a conclusion which firmly endorses and recommends the applicant. Also, the LOR must show confidence in the applicant and their abilities to admit to a program they choose. And should portray that they will get success if given the opportunity.

LOR Format

We at Shiksha offer our standards to assist students with the application process; these recommendations help students apply more quickly by providing advice on document quality and formatting.

To learn more about it, read the Shiksha Guidelines for LOR.

Sample LOR

Here is a sample LOR format for students looking at sharing LOR guidelines with their recommenders below:

This is what an ideal LOR looks like. Applicants can share this sample with their recommenders so they can write LORs similarly. Ensure that this is referred to only for reference and no content is plagiarised from this LOR or any other samples available on the net. 

Vocabulary for Writing Letter of Recommendation

When you send your LOR form, you should have the following vocabulary to leave a strong impression on your admission reviewer: 

Why are Letters of Recommendation Important?

Letters of recommendation are important and hold great significance for an applicant's admission application because of the following reasons:

• It acts as a credibility backing the applicant for his/her achievements.
• The admission committee can understand more about the applicant's skills, work ethic and overall demeanour.
• Through the recommender's letter, the admission committee will also be able to understand the applicant's overall academic potential. 
• Also, the selection panel on the admission committee will get details on how adept the applicant is with his/her skills to complete the course they are applying for. 

Thus, LORs are most important for students as they are a background check for them through a trusted source. The LORs are equally an important part of the admission process for international applicants applying abroad. 

5 Tips for Writing a Strong Letter of Recommendation

LOR meaning as it implies is a 'formal letter describing abilities to help Ad Coms understand the capabilities and abilities of the applicants'. Thus, to showcase this and help the Ad Coms understand how worthy the applicant is for admission to universities abroad, it is essential to follow some tips for writing a strong letter of recommendation. These essential tips are as follows:

1. Do good research about the university (the applicant is applying to), the values and missions of the university and most importantly the admission trends in standardised test scores or class profiles. After understanding how the university requires its applicants to be, work your way for your SAT/ACT or GRE/GMAT and GPA scores. 
2. The recommender has to be specific with his/her approach when writing an LOR. It should adhere to the word limit, the recommender must avoid boasting too much about the applicant, and the recommender should be able to give appropriate examples to share how the applicant is a good fit for the program. Most importantly, the recommender must understand the guidelines before sharing a recommendation. 
3. The language of the LOR should be very formal, and the recommender must avoid using slang or SMS language when writing one. Apart from this, in case the recommender has to submit a Word doc of the letter, it should be typed in Arial with a font size of 10-12 in black colour and not exceed one page of the writing. Avoid using too much colour over the over-the-top decorations in the LOR.
4. The recommender should be honest about the applicant they are recommending. Use correct information and be truthful about everything written on the LOR. Sometimes, what is written on the LOR can be cross-checked with the applicant during admission or student visa interviews. 
5. Finally, the LOR is about the applicant, but the recommender must not forget to share about themselves and their relationship with the applicant. This part is very important for a perfect LOR because it helps Ad Coms understand how well the recommender knows the applicant and how long the association has been with them.   

Apart from the above, applicants must ensure that they share the details of a LOR with the recommender, such as word limit, page layout, requirements, and key features, as they vary per university. Also, the recommenders' emails in the applications should be shared promptly for application submission. Based on these tips, writing a strong recommendation letter is possible. 

How to Request for a Letter of Recommendation?

Requesting a letter of recommendation is as important because it forms a major part of the admission application process. Applicants can request a recommendation this way:

• Requesting a recommender requires a lot of brainstorming to choose the right recommender. 
• Request them politely if you can share their email ID on the recommenders portal for the application.
• If they agree, brief them on how to write a LOR and what they should include.
• Also, inform them about the deadlines and to check their mailbox for emails from the university when receiving an invite to write one and also a confirmation upon submission.
• Since applicants cannot see what their recommenders write for them, they can also request their teachers, counsellors, professors or managers for a copy.

Almost all applications need a minimum of two to three reference letters, so you must be sure your recommenders have agreed to write your letter ahead of time. Also, do not underrate the importance of an LOR, as it is almost as important as your admission essays, statements of purpose, resume, or any other document. A letter of recommendation is a document that lends credibility to your entire resume by demonstrating what the knowledgeable and experienced instructors and individuals have endorsed about you. Similarly, while choosing the right recommender, you must remember key pointers that will help you submit outstanding LORs to the admission committee.