How long should recommendation answers be

Most letters of recommendation are 2-4 pages long. One page recommendations are usually too short to demonstrate and highlight the significant nature of the relationship. In most cases, the recommender has to answer specific questions in the school’s online recommendation system, where each question has a defined word limit (250-500). If you feel that your recommendation will be too short, consider choosing another recommender who has more to say about you, but also keep in mind that most powerful recommendations use specific and concrete examples, which serve to explain and illustrate the recommender’s assertions. Meaning, the content is more important then the length.
For more guidelines and tips for LORs, please visit: https://aringo.com/mba-recommendation-letter-process/

Hi-

Think about it this way- if your boss is addressing a "weakness question" that says "what was an important feedback that you gave to the applicant etc. etc. and how did he respond?" ( 500 words)

A recommender should easily take up more than 350 words for this( or may be touch 500). Why? Well, in the first half of the response, he will set the background for a layman( READER) who has no idea about the relationship between you and your boss. And in the second half, your boss will show how you took corrective actions, and how has he seen you improving on that weakness in the recent past.

The reader of this recommendation will not make any phone calls to you or your boss, and will NOT have any other means to complete the assessment other than that response. B-School applications are like- ONE Sided communications where the rule is- If I am not able to see the impact of an essay or a recommendation, I am not allowed to call up the writer and ask for MORE!

In this scenario, I will suggest that you use whatever space is given to you.

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