How to write a reference letter comes down to four steps, and the writing is the last of them. First gather the facts from the engagement: the dates, the role, the pieces of work, the strengths you saw with a moment that showed each, and any result with a number. Second size the letter from those facts, which the free reference letter on this site does, so you know it needs seven paragraphs and about 480 words before you write one. Third write the parts in order: relationship and period, work, strengths with examples, results, recommendation. Fourth read it as the checker will, and cut anything you would not repeat on the phone.
Step one: gather the facts before writing a word
Open the engagement record, or the emails if there is no record, and list: the dates it ran, the role or the scope, each piece of work the person was responsible for and what it produced, each strength you would name and the moment that showed it, and every result that carries a number. A letter written from that list takes twenty minutes; a letter written from memory takes an hour and says less. Sowbird Pro keeps that list on the engagement as it runs, which is the whole reason the paid product exists.
Step two: size it, then write the parts in order
Enter the facts into the free reference letter and it returns the words, the paragraphs and the reading time; on the worked example, 480 words in seven paragraphs. Then write: paragraph one states who you are, in what capacity you knew the person, the role and the dates. One paragraph per piece of work. One per strength, with its example. A sentence per numbered result. The closing paragraph gives the recommendation, states any limit on it plainly, and gives a direct line. Print it on the firm's letterhead.
Step three: read it as the checker will
A reference checker confirms the dates and the capacity, writes down the examples and the numbers, and skims everything else. Read the draft looking for the sentence that is an adjective without an example and either attach the example or cut the sentence. Then ask of every remaining line whether you would say it on the phone with the person listening; if not, it comes out. What is left is a letter the firm can stand behind, which is the only kind worth sending.
Questions people ask about how to write a reference letter
Is the reference letter on this site free?
Yes, without an account. It sizes and structures the letter from the months, the pieces of work, the strengths, the examples and the results you enter, and prints the parts. Keeping the engagement it is written from, and the letter with who it went to, is the paid product.
How long does it take to write a reference letter?
Twenty minutes from a record of the engagement; an hour or more from memory, and the letter from memory is thinner. The free tool sizes it in a second; the facts are the work.
What if I cannot recommend the person without reservation?
Write what you can stand behind and state the reservation plainly, once. A thin letter or a hint is read as a larger warning than an honest, specific limit. If you cannot write anything you would repeat on a call, decline.