Write for Business - Blog

With the rise of social media, requests to write a "letter of recommendation" are ever more common. I put those words in quotation marks because the requested recommendations are often less formal than a traditional letter - more of a note. Still, the effect can be far-reaching for everyone involved. It's important, then, to do it right, while keeping time, and words, to a minimum. I recommend the following two-step approach.

1. What features do you admire most?
Ask yourself what honest praise springs to mind concerning the requester. If you can't think of something quickly, do everyone a favor and decline the request. The old adage "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" finds a new application here. It's better to avoid wasting your time and a potential reader's, avoid damning the requester with faint praise, and avoid filling the Web with more pointless text. Your response to the requester doesn't have to be cruel; you can simply say you don't have time to give the request the attention it deserves, and wish the person well.

2. What does the reader want to know?
If you do have something nice to say about the requester, next ask yourself what a reader really wants to know. Is the recommendation for employment? Acceptance to school? An award or grant? Each of these readers will be looking for slightly different details, whether work ethic, potential for growth, or applicable accomplishments. Consider how the nice things you have to say match up with what the reader needs, and start writing.

Remember, though, to keep it brief. People on the Web are scanning for a quick sense of things. If they need more details, they will investigate further (and may contact you for that reason).

If you have any other suggestions for writing online recommendations, we would love to hear them. Either add a comment below, or send us an e-mail. Thanks.

- Lester Smith

Photo by PinkMoose

A conjunction is the part of speech used to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Used properly, conjunctions can add continuity to your writing.

Kinds of Conjunctions

Coordinating
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

Correlative
either, or; neither, nor; not only, but (also);
both, and; whether, or; though, yet

Subordinating
after although      as	as long as      as though because	before if in order that	provided that      since so that	that though      till	unless      until when	where whereas while

(From Write for Business, page 251, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 65)

As a noun, pore means "a minute opening"; as a verb, it means "to read intently." Pour is a verb meaning "to cause to flow in a stream." Poor means "lacking wealth" or "inferior."

This new fabric is full of pores that let moisture escape.

Pour yourself some more coffee.

The poor morale was causing problems.

(From Write for Business, page 236, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 48)

As a noun, plain means "a large area of level land." As an adjective, it means "easily understood or seen" or "ordinary."

"The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain."
-Alan Jay Lerner

"There are no plain women on television."
- Anna Ford

As an adjective, plane means "flat, level, and even." As a noun, it means a "flat surface" or a "tool used to smooth the surface of wood"; it also can mean "airplane."

The surface of the new desk was a plane; not even a marble would roll off.

A plane must be sharpened frequently when used on hardwood.

(From Write for Business, page 236, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 48)

A preposition is a word (or word group) used in front of a noun or a pronoun to form a phrase that modifies some other word in the sentence.

The paperwork has been piled onto the file cabinet. (The preposition onto begins a phrase that acts as an adverb modifying the verb has been piled.)

Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, the object of that preposition, and the modifiers of the object.

The flowers on the luncheon table are wilted. (preposition on, object table, and modifiers the and luncheon)

(From Write for Business, page 252, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 64)