Sooner or later, every educator hears the following plea from a current or former student: "Will you write a letter of recommendation for me?" Usually, the student is seeking employment or applying to a college or university for additional education. Many times instructors--taken off guard and unprepared for these requests--find themselves staring at a blank sheet of paper, wondering how to get started. In this article, the author offers major steps used to compose well-written recommendation letters. All recommendation letters should consist of at least four major parts. The opening paragraph establishes educator's relationship to the student. The second includes a discussion of the student's work and academic ability. The third paragraph addresses the student's personal qualities and character. Finally, the letter concludes with a summation of any particularly outstanding attributes of the student that the educator may wish to reiterate and always an invitation to call for additional information. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)