LOR Generator — a Recommendation Letter Worth Signing
Most professors and managers ask the student to prepare a draft. This generator produces one that is structured the way admissions offices like to read: a real relationship, specific strengths, one concrete example, and a clear recommendation. Your recommender reviews it, edits it, and signs only what they believe.
The people and the proof
Your draft
What admissions offices actually read in an LOR
A recommendation letter is evidence, not decoration. The reader is asking one question: does someone credible, who watched this person work, stake their name on them? Everything in the letter either answers that or dilutes it. That is why generic praise fails — a paragraph of adjectives could be about anyone, and the reader knows it.
The structure
- Who is writing, and from where. Name, title, organisation — on letterhead when signed.
- The relationship. In what capacity, and for how long. "I taught her in two courses and supervised her final-year project over three years" establishes standing in one line.
- Strengths with evidence. Two or three strengths, each pinned to something the writer personally saw: a project, a result, a ranking in a cohort, a problem handled.
- Character in context. How the student works with others, responds to setbacks, and compares with peers the writer has known.
- The recommendation. A direct sentence recommending the student for the named program, and an invitation to verify — with contact details that work.
Do
- Give your recommender the facts: your CV, the program name, and the example you hope they will mention. Busy people write vague letters when left to remember.
- Choose recommenders for relevant subjects or work over seniority in an unrelated field.
- Ask early. A letter requested a month ahead is a letter written properly.
- Make sure the signature carries a real, reachable email — verification requests do happen.
Don't
- Don't stack superlatives ("the best student ever, a genius, flawless"). One claim like that poisons the rest.
- Don't let two recommenders submit near-identical letters. Readers compare them, and sameness reads as a single author.
- Don't have the recommender sign anything they have not read. That is the line between drafting help and misrepresentation.
- Don't reuse a letter written for a different program without updating the program name and fit — the most common embarrassment in this genre.
LOR questions, answered
Who should write my letter of recommendation?
Someone who has directly taught, supervised or managed you and can describe your work from personal knowledge — a professor of a relevant subject, a research supervisor, an employer or a line manager. A famous name who barely knows you is worth less than a mid-level supervisor who watched you deliver a project.
Can I draft the letter for my recommender?
Yes — it is common and usually expected, especially where recommenders are busy or writing in a second language is slow for them. The honest version of the practice: you draft, the recommender reads it, changes anything they would not say, and signs only what they genuinely believe. Anything else is misrepresentation.
What makes a recommendation letter convincing?
Specific evidence. "She is hardworking" convinces nobody; "she rebuilt our lab inventory system in her final-year project and presented it to two industry reviewers" convinces everybody. One or two concrete examples, a clear statement of how long and in what capacity the writer knows you, and a direct closing recommendation are the whole recipe.
How long should an LOR be?
One page, roughly 350–500 words. Long enough for two real examples, short enough that every sentence is about you specifically.
Should the letter be on letterhead?
When the recommender signs it, yes where possible — university or company letterhead, with their title and a reachable email or phone number in the signature, because admissions offices do sometimes verify letters.