几乎所有的大学都会要求申请人提交推荐信（recommendation letter），评审委员根据推荐者的文字描述，可以了解申请人的背景状况。它可以说明各种成绩数字以外的其他情况，补充过于计量化、公式化审核的一种评估方式。在决定出国申请是否成功的诸多要素中，有力的推荐信是录取的重要条件之一，其份量仅次于于本科成绩单和标准化考试（gre、gmat、toefl）成绩。
同学们所申请的大学一般要求三封推荐信。推荐人的身份可以是曾经教你的教授，或者现（曾）职工作单位主管，自己视学校要求和自己的需要组合。例如，如果你毕业十年，你的推荐信可应有二封由工作主管来写为宜，而毕业一两年顶多一封即足够。
推荐人的职务并不一定愈高愈有利，相反地，认识你的时间较长，虽然职位不高，但是由于对你有着清楚地了解，所以其撰写的内容往往能够适当地表达你的个性（personality）。这才是上乘的推荐。
接下来，我们将通过实例来讨论推荐信包含的主要内容，基本结构，以及通常可以套用的模式。
例如：
to whom it may concern:
i take great pleasure in recommending miss××， a promising girl as a worthy candidate for admission and financial aids to your prodigious university. as her undergraduate advisor, i had known her for nearly four years. in this letter i would like to share with you my perspectives on this exceptional young lady.
miss×× strikes a balance in academic and extracurricular activities, which is rarely seen in university students. from an education perspective, i think miss×× is the type of student who can go far and broad as an integrated human being to fulfill academic mission and social responsibility.
when i taught her ××（课程）, unlike many other students loafing time in heavy complaints about the boring stuff, she was self-disciplined with the fundamentals and made step-by-step progress. she was also self-navigated. in addition to class assignments, she proactively broadened herself asking for extra reading list from me. naturally, she got good scores of 91 and 92 points respectively. in the meantime, she has obtained a macroview on the development of the schools of ×× and the trend of thought, which will establish solid basis for her future research in ××field.
besides her academic activities, i also attracted by her social activities and capabilities. miss×× has a strong ability in organizing, leading and controlling extracurricular activities. in the past three years she has organized many activities successfully. in particular, she took part in ××（association）. through a series of activities, many people were impressed by her leadership, humor and eloquence. she was elected as a student representative to take the speech in＃＃ delivered by ×× president and sponsored “＃＃”, a large-scaled sale for charity in cooperation with ××(公司名称) to which she invited many ambassadors or cultural chancellors and raised an assistance fund. eventually, she received a highest honorary school diploma signed personally by the president of ××(大学名称) for her performance in such activities.
all the observation on shanshan in closeness leads to the conclusion that she is both a candidate qualified for your graduate program towards a higher degree and a citizen that will impact the communities in neighborhood with knowledge and enthusiasm. if you need more information concerning her, please contact me freely.
sincerely,
xxxxxx
根据这封推荐信，我们可以对推荐信的内容，结构和模式有非常直观的认识。
第一， 从内容来看，推荐信包括以下几个部分：
1. 推荐人和申请者之间的关系；
推荐人和申请者的关系一般有以下几种：
1）师生关系（导师和学生，任课老师和学生，班主任和学生，系院领导和学生）；
2）上级和下属关系；
3）同事关系；
4）实习单位领导和实习生的关系。
2. 两人认识时间、经过；
3. 申请者的哪些素质给推荐人留下了深刻的印象（推荐人赞赏你哪些品质这是推荐的核心）；
4. 对申请者寄予什么样的希望（寄予的希望一般都会是希望申请者在申请的领域里继续深造，最终有所成就）。
第二，从整体结构来看,通常说来一封推荐信可以分别用以下三种结构来体现：
1. 总分总结构
2. 总分结构
3. 分总结构
而从单独的段落来讲，也可以是这三种结构。
但是由于申请材料众多,为了让评审的教授能够在很短的时间内对你的特点有所印象，建议大家不管是整体的结构还是段落的结构都使用前面两种：
1 总分总结构
2 总分结构。
这封推荐信在总体结构上采用了总分总的机构，在具体特点的推荐上采用了总分的结构。
第三，推荐信其格式有些模式可循，以下将针对各段提供模式作参考：
（一）抬头可用的格式有：
dear sir/madam/to whom it may concern:
（二）第一段：引文句子。可以引用如：
“it is a pleasure to recommend to you (name), a former student of mine at (name of university).”
“i am very happy to have this opportunity to recommend (name), who is presently applying for admission to your graduate (or undergraduate) program in (name of program).”
“i understand that (name) is applying for admissions to your graduate (undergraduate) school, and has requested that i write this letter of recommendation for her/him.”
“in my capacity as professor at xxxx university, i have known xxx for three years, as both his/her advisor and professor.”
（三）第二段：这段可以提供最实质的内容。譬如，如果推荐人是教授，解释学生在他门下所修的课程。
“(name) took two of my courses during the 1998-99 academic year, as follows; “xxxxx” and “xxxxx”.”
“(name) was enrolled in three of classes from september 1998 to june 1999 “xxx” and “xxx”.”
接下来，教授写一些有关申请人在课堂上的表现，如完成的研究计划、实验室研究、研究报告、考试的成绩、课堂态度、讨论课的参与等，举出实例。
“in my class (es), (name) did excellent work. she always listened attentively, participated actively in class, and handed in very good written assignment.
“in particular, his/her research paper on (topic) was of exceptionally high quality, and showed that s/he fully understands and has a strong background in his/her field.”
如果推荐人是工作主管，首先一定要仔细陈述申请人的工作职责，并对申请者的工作表现做一评估。如果可能的话尽量列举实例。
“when (name) held the position of (job title) in this company she was one s/he was one of my best employees. his/her job responsibilities included (describe them), and s/he carried out his/her duties with exceptional skill and professionalism.”
“s/he not only did his/her own work, but also helped other employees, and made many valuable contributions to the efficient running to our firm.”
第二段最后一段：可以提及申请人在班上（或公司里）的比较表现（譬如排名）：
“i was rate (name)’s academic ability as in the top 10% of his/her class.”
“compared against other students that i have taught, i would say that (name) ranks in the upper 10%.
接下来，推荐人可对申请人能否成功完成学业提出看法。举例：
“based on his/her previous performance, i am certain that (name) would be a very successful student at your university.”
“i believe that (name) possesses all the qualities necessary to make an excellent graduate student in his/her chosen field, and am sure that s/he will make a fine addition to your campus.”
（四）第三段：如果还有其他话想说，请另写一段。
例如：英文能力、沟通技巧、领导才能、特殊学术或工作背景。譬如说，如果申请人欲申请的科系是企管系，推荐人可着力描写他们有关申请者商业的专门技术、领导才能，以及申请者所参加的商业活动。例如，有关商业方面的组织社团。又如，申请人申请护理研究所，推荐人可着力描写他们关怀的态度，处理实验室的技能，或是对病人的奉献。
（五）最后，以几句结尾做总结；
“therefore, i am happy to highly and without reservation recommend (name) for admission to your graduate program. your kind/serious consideration of his/her application would be most appreciated.”
“i am thus pleased to give my full support and recommendation to (name)’s application for admission to your school. if any further information is required, please feel free to contact me.”
（六）签名：
sincerely/sincerely yours/very truly yours,
with best regards,