A5.8 Writing a Reference Letter¶
What is a Reference Letter?
A reference letter is a document written by your teacher or employer, primarily describing your personal circumstances and providing a balanced or commendatory evaluation and recommendation of you. When studying or seeking employment in the UK, you will often need to submit reference letters. This is especially true for applying to UK universities, where providing references is almost always a mandatory requirement, though there might be some exceptions at certain UK universities that I am not currently aware of.
For example, some UK universities require one academic reference from a teacher when applying for undergraduate degrees or transfer years, while Master's applications typically require two references, meaning recommendations from two different teachers. If you have work experience (e.g., as a graduate applicant or for an MBA), you can provide one reference from your employer and one academic reference from a former teacher. The reference letter must be printed on the official letterhead of the referee's institution/company, signed by the referee, and must include the referee's job title, telephone number, email address, and other specific contact details.
Ten-Litre Cat reminds you that the specific number of reference letters required depends on the university, the specific programme, and the type of application. Generally, one is required for undergraduate applications and two for postgraduate taught Master's applications, but some programmes or universities may require three, or sometimes undergraduate applications don't require them at all.
What does a reference letter include?
First, state the referee's background, including their name, position, etc. Describe the relationship between the referee and the applicant, when they met, and for how long. For instance, if it's a teacher-student relationship, specify the subject they taught you and the period (e.g., from which year/term to which year/term).
Next, explain why they are recommending you. This section should focus on your performance during your studies, including a comprehensive evaluation of your academic grades, class participation, extracurricular activities, teamwork, organisational skills, leadership, etc. Alternatively, it might highlight a particular key strength.
Then, state that the referee is willing to recommend you and believes you will work hard academically, fulfil your potential, and progress further, perhaps adding well-wishes, etc.
The reference letter should generally include: The official letterhead of the referee's institution/company, the referee's signature, the referee's job title, the referee's telephone number, the referee's email address, and the specific work address.
Ten-Litre Cat Reminders:
The reference letter must be genuine and valid.
Genuine means that your teacher actually wrote the letter and signed it, and is aware of its contents. However, unlike in some countries where official stamps are common, UK universities primarily rely on the signature. For example, my reference letters only had the teacher's signature, without any school stamp. This situation can sometimes lead to non-genuine references.
Valid means that during your application period, the contact details provided for your referee (phone, address, email, etc.) should be functional and allow the university to contact them if necessary. Generally, universities do not contact referees, but there is a probability they might, depending on the circumstances. Therefore, the information provided must be correct and current.
Regarding the official letterhead, this is definitely required in many contexts, particularly from referees within certain systems. However, in other cases, for instance, some teachers from foreign universities might not write their reference on official university letterhead. They might simply write it on a computer, print it, sign it, and provide it in a scanned PDF or other electronic format. This is acceptable to some UK universities. Therefore, you must check the specific requirements of the UK universities you are applying to. For example, my references from international teachers weren't all on official letterhead. To be safe, I directly asked three different subject teachers to write references for me, and they were all very prompt, providing them within a few days.
Who should you ask for a reference letter?
If you are a current student or a recent graduate, ask any teacher who has taught you.
If you graduated a few years ago and haven't worked, ask a teacher who taught you in the past.
If you have been working for a few years, you can ask a former teacher for one reference, and potentially have one written by your employer.
Points to note about reference letters:
Ten-Litre Cat reminds you:
Firstly, whether you are a current student, a graduate without work experience, or someone with work experience, it is best to ask a teacher who previously taught you in a specific subject. The teacher should ideally be from the institution corresponding to your highest academic qualification at the time of application. This means: if you are going to the UK for a Bachelor's degree, you need a reference from your high school teacher. If you are going for a Master's degree, and your highest qualification is a Bachelor's degree from China or another country, then you need a reference from a former undergraduate lecturer – essentially, a teacher from the institution that awarded your highest qualification.
Secondly, the reference letter must be written in English. This can be done in several ways: 1) The teacher writes it in English themselves. 2) You draft the English text for the teacher (you must ask for their permission first). 3) The teacher writes it in Chinese, and you get it officially translated and notarised. For instance, my undergraduate education followed the British system with foreign teachers, so they wrote the references directly in English. As I was in China and the teachers were abroad, we didn't use postal mail (which is time-consuming, costly, and prone to loss) but communicated directly via email. If you've read my previous article on how to email UK teachers, you'll know that communication with international teachers relies heavily on email. Even if you graduated many years ago, you can usually still contact them via their institutional email unless they have left and no longer use that address. Normally, even if they have left, you might find alternative contacts through the student centre or department.
Thirdly, while there is no strict word limit for a reference letter, it is best to keep it to one A4 page. Don't write excessively; a few hundred words focusing on key points is sufficient.
I searched for a long time to find a reference letter template for you. But I realised that using a template is not advisable. If they are used too generically, it can make UK admissions tutors feel the letters are mass-produced, lacking personal character, the referee's unique style, and failing to represent you effectively. Therefore, I recommend not using templates. Well, alright, another reason is that I didn't actually find a suitable one. If you find one, please let me know, and I will share it here. Thank you in advance!