Teacher's recommendation letter format and best practices

¶ … behalf of Benjamin. I have had the pleasure of presiding over Benjamin's education for that past few years and I have come to find him to be a young man of exceptional character and achievement. He will undoubtedly make a wonderful addition to your prestigious institution. You will see from this letter some of his accomplishments over the past few years and I think you will agree that someone capable of this level of excellence and his age would make a fine addition to your student body.

Benjamin is one of our finest academic performers. He works tirelessly in his classes and is focused intently on learning. The results are clear -- he has been at the top of his class is both 6th and 7th grade. He is never content just to achieve, he always seeks to go higher, and excel beyond the expectations. It is this drive that results in academic perfection -- he has all the right work habits to go along with the intellect and it shows.

With this hard work and dedication comes the respect on one's peers. In 2009, Benjamin was elected as the best representative of his class, winning the student election. The result shows just how well-loved he is by his classmates, for he always looks out for their interest and is a tireless worker on their behalf. This experience has given Benjamin a taste of responsibility, and both fellow students and faculty alike are impressed with his performance thus far.

His concern for public issues is not new to me. In 2007, I held a lunch meeting with the school's top students. All were high academic performers, but I was quite taken by Benjamin's concern for public issues. That is very unusual for a sixth grade student, so it was not surprising that he had been so successful in the public service of his fellow students.

Going beyond this, Benjamin is talented in many other areas as well, which is testament to his exceptionalism. He was a team leader during the 2009 World Robot Olympiad, representing Taipei City and Taipei County. He demonstrated outstanding leadership and I felt that they took a very creative approach to problem-solving. Although they did not win, I found their effort to be truly special.

He is also a swimmer, and takes the same dedication to that pastime as to all of his other endeavors. He performs all four disciplines -- freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke -- which I feel suits his character very well. He is just an incredibly well-rounded young man.

Each year in September we hold what is known as a "Basic Competency Test" for all 8th grade students who are entering high schools here in Taiwan. Benjamin scored 99% on this exam. He has already been accepted into the best high school in Taiwan, the Taipei Municipal JianGuo High School, but he is determined to study in the United States.

I have known Benjamin for many years now. He has been with the Kang-Chiao Bilingual School since the first grade. Our school is structure to provide our students with excellent education in both Chinese and English. Benjamin's English has always been remarkable. He recently took the TOEFL exam and scored a 79, for example.