The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when A student asked you for a recommendation for college, a scholarship or a job, and you need a specific, honest letter built from what you observed.
- {{recipient}}
- {{opportunity}}
- {{relationship}}
- {{teacher_notes}}
- {{student_input}}
- {{requirements}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Draft a recommendation letter for a student I taught, for {{recipient}}, so that the reader learns something specific about this student that the rest of the application cannot show. I will edit and sign it. What the student is applying for: {{opportunity}} How I know the student (class, role, how long): {{relationship}} My notes, with specific moments, work and qualities I observed: """ {{teacher_notes}} """ What the student asked me to highlight, from their request or summary sheet: """ {{student_input}} """ Length or format the application requires: {{requirements}} Structure: 1. Opening: who I am, how I know the student, and a one-sentence overall judgment I can stand behind. 2. Two or three paragraphs, each built around one specific example from my notes: what happened, what the student did, and what it shows about them. 3. A paragraph connecting these qualities to the opportunity. 4. A closing with my recommendation and an offer to be contacted. Follow the required length; if none is given, write 400 to 500 words. Write in my voice: plain, warm and professional, with concrete detail instead of strings of adjectives such as "hardworking, dedicated and passionate". Use only what is in my notes and the student's input. Do not invent achievements, grades, rankings, anecdotes or quotes, because the letter goes out under my name. Do not rank the student against others, as in "top 5% of students I have taught", unless my notes say so. Leave out disability, health, religion, family circumstances and other personal matters unless the student's input says they want them included. If my notes have too few specific examples for a strong letter, write the best honest draft you can, then list up to three questions that would help me add detail. Mark anything you inferred rather than read in my notes with [check].
Variables
- {{recipient}}
- Who reads it, for example "the admissions committee at a state university" or "a summer internship program".
- {{opportunity}}
- What the student is applying for, in a few words.
- {{relationship}}
- How you know the student, for example "taught her AP Chemistry for two years and advised the science club".
- {{teacher_notes}}
- Specific moments, work and qualities you saw, in rough notes. Specific beats general.
- {{student_input}}
- What the student asked you to mention, from their email or summary sheet. Write "none" if they gave nothing.
- {{requirements}}
- The length or format required, or "none given".
Why it works
- What good looks like. Each body paragraph is built on one observed example, which is what makes a recommendation persuasive and what generic letters lack.
- What to avoid. No invented achievements or rankings in a letter you sign, and no personal matters unless the student asked for them.
- If unsure. Thin notes produce an honest draft plus questions, and inferences are marked [check] so you can confirm them before signing.