Recommendation letter from a professor for a master’s applicant
Who wrote it
Dr Samer Khalil teaches statistics in Amman. He recommends a former student and research assistant for a master’s in statistics and data science in Leuven.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Who is writing?
- I am the referee
- The referee: name, title, institution
- Dr Samer Khalil, Associate Professor of Statistics, University of Jordan
- The student, and how the referee knows them
- Hala Mahmoud: in my Regression Analysis course (autumn 2023, 52 students), then my research assistant for two semesters (2024 to 2025)
- What the letter is for
- MSc in Statistics and Data Science, KU Leuven
- What the referee saw
- Regression Analysis: 97/100, the highest in the class; her office-hour questions were about why a method fails
Ran a weekly R help session for second-year students on her own initiative, about 25 each week
Research assistant, household energy use study in Amman: cleaned data from 1,100 households; found 140 records entered twice, which changed one main estimate; reported it with the code before I noticed - The referee's overall judgement
- Among the five strongest students I have taught in eleven years; I recommend her without reservation
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Recommendation letter for a student: Reference letter
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,
Greeting
I am glad to recommend Hala Mahmoud for the MSc in Statistics and Data Science at KU Leuven. I have known her for two years, first as a student in my Regression Analysis course1 in autumn 2023, which had 52 students, and then as my research assistant for two semesters in 2024 and 2025.
Recommendation and basis
Note 1: The basis for the judgement comes first: how long, in which roles, and in a class of what size.
Hala finished Regression Analysis with a mark of 97 out of 100, the highest in the class2. What I remember more than the mark is how she worked. Her questions in office hours were rarely about how to reach an answer and usually about why a method fails3: what happens to a model when its assumptions are only partly true. Later that year, on her own initiative, she started a weekly R help session for second-year students, and around 25 of them came each week.
Evidence: in class
Note 2: A grade means little abroad; its rank in the class means a lot.
Note 3: A quality shown through behaviour the professor saw. It replaces adjectives such as “curious” or “intelligent”.
As my research assistant on a study of household energy use in Amman, she cleaned survey data from 1,100 households. During that work she found that 140 records had been entered twice, an error that changed one of our main estimates. She reported it to me, with the code that showed the problem, before I had noticed anything.4 That combination of care and honesty is what research needs most, and it is not common at her stage.
Evidence: in research
Note 4: One specific moment only the referee could describe. This is what separates a strong letter from a polite one.
Among the students I have taught in eleven years, I would place Hala among the five strongest5. I recommend her without reservation, and I am confident that she will do excellent work in your programme.
Comparison and judgement
Note 5: A comparison with a real group over real years. Committees look for this line first.
I would be happy to answer any questions about her application.
Offer to help
Sincerely,
Dr Samer Khalil
Associate Professor of Statistics, University of Jordan
[email protected]
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
She is an excellent, hard-working and intelligent student.
She found that 140 records had been entered twice and reported it to me before I had noticed anything.
I know her since 2023.
I have known her since 2023.
She is the best student I ever taught.
Among the students I have taught in eleven years, I would place Hala among the five strongest.
Questions people ask
My professor asked me to draft my own recommendation letter. Is that acceptable?
It is common in many countries. Write only what the professor saw, leave the comparison with other students for them, and let them edit and sign. In the template, choose “I am the student, drafting it” and the draft leaves that part for the referee.
What makes a recommendation letter strong?
Specific evidence the referee saw, a comparison with other students and the referee’s standing to judge: how long they have known you, and in what role. Warmth helps, but evidence persuades.
How long should a recommendation letter be?
About one page, usually 300 to 500 words. This one has about 280 words: two paragraphs of evidence, a comparison and a short offer to answer questions.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.