All of the formats that I have found for letter writers appear to be quite similar. This is a copy of UW-Madisons guidlines.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITERS OF RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
Listed below are areas of interest to the Admissions Committee. Please address areas listed in which
you are sufficiently knowledgeable as it relates to the applicant.
Academic Performance and Intellectual Ability
INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY AND RETENTION: Ability to integrate and work with a large quantity
of information and the ability to remember.
INTELLECTUAL KEENNESS AND DEPTH: Ability to quickly grasp, analyze and understand
complex material and concepts.
ORIGINALITY AND IMAGINATION: Ability to envision and define new perspectives, arrangements,
approaches.
RESOURCEFULNESS: Ability to manage resources already at hand, and to develop and manage new
resources.
Motivation for Medicine
ENJOYMENT IN AND COMMITMENT TO: The study and application of science; interacting and
working with others; providing service and assistance to others; and the specific functions and activities
of healthcare delivery.
INDUSTRY: Application, energy, perseverance, stamina, and endurance.
Interpersonal Skills
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: Ability to work with and to get along with others, rapport, cooperation,
attitudes toward supervision.
EMPATHY: Sensitivity to the needs of others, consideration, and tact.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Clarity of expression and articulation in oral and written
communications.
Personality
MATURITY AND EMOTIONAL STABILITY: Personal development, ability to cope with
life situations, performance under pressure, mood stability, consistency in ability to relate to others.
JUDGMENT: Ability to analyze an operational problem with common sense and decisiveness.
SELF-CONFIDENCE: Assuredness, capacity to achieve with awareness of own strengths
and weaknesses.
INDEPENDENCE: Ability to act autonomously with productivity and comfort.
DEPENDABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY: Reliability, promptness, conscientiousness.
Distinctiveness of the Individual
Discuss those things that you think are most important to know about the student regarding
qualifications for admission to the MD Degree Program
Additionally,
LizzyM wrote a description maybe 2 years ago that I found really helpful.
"Generally a letter will start out with the statement that the writer is pleased to write a letter of recommendation for Your Name Here. Then it goes on to describe how long the writer has known the applicant and the nature of the relationship (supervisor, instructor, division chief, etc).
Next paragraph usually describes what your job has entailed. How many runs per month to you make? Structure fires, brush fires, wash-downs of vehicle crashs? First aid, CPR, anything like that? Have you been promoted? Obtained a leadership or training role? Done something special for morale?
Next paragraph usually describes the attributes that you've demonstrated on the job that will make you a good student or a good doctor.
The next paragraph is optional but this is the place to put any negatives followed, if possible, with something positive that shows that you've grown. (Although Jack had trouble early on ... he quickly learned to ... and gained the respect and the admiration of ....)
The summary paragraph usually says something about your rank among your peers (among the top 5% of ....), the writer's confidence to have you as his physician, some regret that you will not continue on with some other career (laboratory or firefighter, etc) and closes with a general recommendation (I am pleased to recommend (or highly recommend, or most highly recommend) Mr. Jones for admission to medical school). Some writers offer their phone number if the reader has any questions (I've never known anyone to call ...)."
Hope that helps.
