How to Ask for a Recommendation Letter in English

Many recommendation requests are respectful and still hard to answer. The message circles through gratitude, course memories, and polite hesitation before the request finally appears. For a professor or mentor, the key facts are simpler: what you are applying for, why you are asking this person, when the deadline is, and what materials you can provide. Good English puts those facts where they can be seen quickly.

A practical structure starts with identity and connection. Remind the reader how they know you: a course, a project, office hours, a thesis discussion, a lab role, a supervised assignment. Then make the request directly. After that, explain why their perspective would be meaningful. Specific memory beats abstract praise. It is more useful to mention the seminar paper you revised with them than to write that you deeply admire their teaching.

Tone matters because the email asks for labor. If you write with urgency in every sentence, the request can sound like pressure. A lighter line often works better: if you are available, I would be grateful for your support, and I can send my CV, statement draft, transcript, and deadline details right away. That keeps the request honest while leaving the reader space to decline.