Who can write a letter of recommendation?

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:

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you draft a polished, effective email to ask someone to write a letter of recommendation for you.

What is the difference between a letter of reference and a letter of recommendation?: 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.
How should you ask for a letter of recommendation from an employer?: 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.