How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
How you ask for a letter of recommendation is important because you need to ask in a way that maximizes your chances of getting the best possible reference for your job, internship, graduate school, or scholarship application.
- Ask specifically for a strong recommendation—this helps to signal that the potential recommender should decline if they feel they’ll only be able to write you a generic or weak letter.
- Provide helpful context such as details of the opportunity, submission deadline, and suggestions for what to include in the letter.
- Ask in a way that’s respectful and convincing without being pushy.
If you’re requesting a letter of recommendation via email, QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you to strike the right tone.
Tips on asking for a letter of recommendation
The following advice will help you ask for your letter of recommendation in a way that increases the likelihood of getting a strong, personalized endorsement.
1. Don’t delay
Good “letters of rec” take time to write, so give your recommender as much advance warning as possible. If they’re a teacher, professor, or counselor, they may get a lot of requests during application season. Asking early means the potential recommender is more likely to agree and have enough time to write you a detailed, authentic letter.
2. Choose a suitable recommender
To get a strong, effective recommendation, you need to choose a person who knows you well enough to write a convincing letter that backs up their praise with concrete examples. This is more important than selecting someone with an impressive job title or big reputation in their field.
3. Ask in person
If practical, ask the potential recommender in person as a first step, following up with an email if they agree. This will make it easier for you to pick up on any hesitancy. If the potential recommender seems reticent, it may be better to ask someone else, as you don’t want a weak or rushed reference.
You might start with a question like, “I’m looking for someone to write me a strong letter of recommendation for my [X] application and wondered if you would consider being my recommender.” Using the word “strong” is a signal to decline politely if they don’t feel they can write you an enthusiastic or genuine letter.
4. Provide the information
In your follow-up email, make it easy for your recommender to write a strong letter by suggesting achievements, projects, skills, and strengths they could mention. Give them your resume, and transcript if you’re a student, as well as useful links such as the webpages of the relevant institution, company, or program.
Tell them what the submission deadline is and how they should submit the letter (e.g., via an online platform or by emailing it to someone).
Your aim is to make it as easy as possible for your recommender to write the letter.
5. Check on progress
Put a reminder in your calendar for a couple of weeks before the deadline to check that the letter has been written/submitted. You might be able to do this by checking your emails or the relevant portal for confirmation. Otherwise, send the recommender a quick email to ask if they have all the information they need as a gentle reminder.
6. Say thank you
Sending a thank you email will help to maintain a good relationship with your recommender for the future.
How to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation
In an email requesting a letter of recommendation from a current or former professor, mention the classes you took with them or specific projects or assignments you did for them.
Dear Professor Borotra,
I really enjoyed your Advanced Machine Learning last semester—as well as the three other courses I’ve taken with you over the past few semesters—and I’m writing to request a strong letter of recommendation for my graduate school applications.
The deadlines for the programs are in December and January. As the three programs are very similar, the content of the letters could be largely the same.
I’ve attached a short document with:
- Notes about the projects and achievements that relate to the classes I’ve taken with you
- Details of the programs I’m applying to and how to submit the letters
- The submission deadlines
I’ve also attached my CV for your reference.
Thank you very much for considering my request. I appreciate the time and effort involved in writing such letters and would be grateful for your support.
Please let me know if you require any further information or would like to arrange an appointment to talk through the content of the letter.
Sincerely,
Maya Garcia
How to ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation
Many schools ask students to prepare a “brag sheet” to help teachers write their letters of recommendation for college applications. This is a document—or completed questionnaire—that includes helpful information such as your interests, achievements, and specific examples of when you demonstrated the qualities you’d like highlighted in the letter.
Remember to include your brag sheet or resume when emailing a teacher for a letter of recommendation. You can use a tool like QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you proofread your email.
Dear Ms. Williams,
Following our conversation at the end of class yesterday, I’m writing to ask if you would consider writing me a strong letter of recommendation for my college applications.
I’ve really enjoyed your AP English classes over the past three semesters and feel that you’ve gotten to know me well—especially since I’ve always felt confident taking part in your class discussions and we both went on the Model UN conference trip last year.
You’ll find my brag sheet form attached here, which contains details of the colleges I’m applying to and suggestions for what to include in the letter. The deadlines are all in December—so there’s plenty of time—but I wanted to give you as much notice as possible.
Please let me know if you need anything else from me.
I really appreciate your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Elena Blix
Frequently asked questions about how to ask for a letter of recommendation
- What is the difference between a letter of reference and a letter of recommendation?
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The terms letter of reference and letter of recommendation are often used interchangeably.
In the U.S., however, a “letter of recommendation” typically refers to a letter written for a specific application (e.g., to college or graduate school) that is tailored to the opportunity in question. A “letter of reference,” on the other hand, usually refers to a general endorsement (e.g., written by a person’s employer when they leave a job) that can be used for multiple future applications.
- Who can write a letter of recommendation?
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Who can write a letter of recommendation depends on the application type.
To be able to write a strong letter, the recommender needs to know the applicant well so they can speak from firsthand experience.
College applicants, for instance, typically ask one or two of the following trusted figures to write a letter of recommendation for them:
- A high school teacher
- A high school counselor
- An employer
- A leader of an extracurricular activity
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you draft a polished, effective email to ask someone to write a letter of recommendation for you.
- How should you ask for a letter of recommendation for grad school?
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When asking for a letter of recommendation for grad school, offer to make the process as easy as possible for your potential recommender by:
Giving them suggestions for the content of the letter of recommendation (e.g., sentences including relevant examples of projects and research you’ve worked on that your potential recommender was involved in)
Providing them with all the background information they need (e.g., details of the programs you’re are applying to)Ask for a strong recommendation to communicate that they should say no if they can only write you a weak or generic letter.
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Paraphraser? You can use it to help you write convincing statements about your suitability for the programs you’re applying to.
- How should you ask for a letter of recommendation from an employer?
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When asking for a letter of recommendation from an employer, offer to make the process as easy as possible for them by:
- Giving them suggestions for statements they could include in the body of the letter (e.g., sentences with specific examples of projects, achievements etc. that your potential recommender has witnessed firsthand)
- Providing them with all the background information they need (e.g., details of the job you’re applying for and the requirements of the job)
Ask for a strong letter of recommendation to signal that they should decline if they can only write you a generic or weak letter.You can use a tool like QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help you write compelling descriptions of your strengths, qualifications, and achievements.
