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How to write a recommendation letter for studying in the UK? How to write a reference letter?

What is a reference letter?

A reference letter, also known as a recommendation letter, is a letter written by your teacher or supervisor that introduces your background, provides an objective or positive evaluation of you, and recommends you for a particular purpose. When studying in the UK or applying for jobs, you may often be required to submit reference letters. This requirement is particularly common when applying to UK universities, although there may be exceptions depending on the university and program.

For example, some UK universities may require a letter of academic recommendation written by a teacher for undergraduate or intercalated programs, while two letters of recommendation may be required for master's degree applications. If you have work experience (e.g., graduates or MBA applicants), you can also provide a recommendation letter from your employer and an academic recommendation letter from a previous teacher. The reference letter should be printed on the official letterhead of the recommender's organization and should include their signature, position, phone number, email, and specific work location.

Please note:

1. The reference letter must be genuine and valid.      "Genuine" means that your teacher actually wrote and signed the      letter, as foreign universities often focus on the signature rather than      official seals like in China. For example, my recommendation letter only      had the signature of the teacher without any official seal. Therefore,      there may be cases where the reference letter is not considered genuine.      "Valid" means that during your application period, the contact      information provided by your teacher, such as phone number, address, or      email, should be valid and allow the university to reach them. Although      universities generally do not contact the recommenders, there is still a      possibility of contact, so the provided information should be valid.

2. Regarding the official letterhead of the recommender's      organization, while it is usually required in China, some foreign      universities may accept recommendation letters written directly on a      computer, printed, signed, and saved as image files or PDFs. The specific      requirements depend on the UK university you are applying to. For example,      my recommendation letters were written by foreign teachers, and not all of      them used the official letterhead. To be on the safe side, I asked three      teachers from different subjects to write my recommendation letters. They      were all very efficient and provided the letters within a few days.

Below is a screenshot of a portion of one of the recommendation letters written by one of my teachers：

Study Abroad Recommendation Letter for the UK

Who should you ask to write a recommendation letter?

1. If you are a recent graduate, ask any teacher who has taught      you to write a recommendation letter.

2. If you have graduated several years ago and have no work      experience, ask a teacher who has taught you in the past to write a      recommendation letter.

3. If you have been working for a few years, you can ask a teacher      from your previous school to write a recommendation letter, or you can ask      your current employer to write one of the letters.

Important points to note for recommendation letters:
First, regardless of whether you are a recent graduate, have been out of school for a few years without work experience, or have been working for a few years, it is best to ask a teacher who has taught you a specific subject in the past, and that teacher should be from the time when you had the highest level of education in your country. For example, if you are going to study undergraduate in the UK, you need a recommendation letter from a teacher who taught you in high school. If you are going to study a master's degree in the UK and your highest level of education in your country or any other country is a bachelor's degree, then you should ask a teacher from your previous bachelor's degree program to write the recommendation letter.

Second, the recommendation letter should be written in English. There are several ways to accomplish this: 1) The teacher can write the letter in English, 2) You can write the letter in English and ask the teacher if they agree to it (you should ask in advance), or 3) The teacher can write the letter in Chinese, and you can have it translated and notarized at a translation service. For example, in my case, since I received a British-style education during my undergraduate studies and my teachers were foreign nationals, the recommendation letters were written directly in English. As my teachers were overseas and I was in China at the time, we communicated via email. If you have read my previous guide on how to email British teachers, you would be familiar with contacting foreign teachers primarily through email. Even if you have graduated many years ago, unless the teacher has left their position and no longer has the same email address, you should still be able to reach them. In normal circumstances, even if they have left, you can find alternative contact information through the student center.

Third, although there is no specific word limit for the recommendation letter, it is best to keep it to one page, which is the size of an A4 paper. Avoid writing too much; a few hundred words highlighting the key points should be sufficient.

I have searched for a long time to find a recommendation letter template to share with everyone, but I realized that it is better not to use templates. If you send out a large number of template-based letters, it may give the impression to UK teachers that they are mass-produced and lack personal characteristics or the unique style of the recommender, making it difficult to better showcase your own qualities. Therefore, I suggest not using templates. However, if you have found one, please let me know, and I will include it here. I would appreciate your help with that.

It is recommended to check your email at least three times a day: in the morning, afternoon, and evening. It's best to check it 3-5 times a day. Consolidate all your email accounts in one app or bookmark them in a folder in your browser for easy access to check them all at once. Also, store your passwords in a secure place, such as a cloud storage service, using symbols or partial information for security. I will cover this in more detail in a future article. I have previously written an article about email, specifically addressing the issue of not finding certain articles.