Universities like to read references that are honest but that also focus on strengths, not weaknesses.

For professional courses (like medicine, nursing or social work) do endorse the student's suitability for the profession itself, not just 'Emma is interested in the healthcare field'.

Include any widening participation activities they have taken part in.

Detail any challenges students have overcome, such as juggling their workload with part-time work, peer mentoring or volunteering.Use objective comparison or ranking - if the applicant is in the top 10% of the year group for chemistry, say so.Show that the applicant is someone they will want to teach - demonstrate their academic progression, motivation and achievements.Show that you know the student well - focus on their academic performance and transferable skills.

It's OK to repeat some information from one student to the next, but it's the student's individual academic skills that are of interest.

Information about extra-curricular activities are useful, but not in excessive detail, unless it's directly relevant to the course.

Be course-specific - focus on their suitability and potential for the courses they're applying for and name the course in the reference.

Ensure there is enough ‘meat on the bone’ in subject references to differentiate between applicants (see more tips below).You could then show them your PS, talk through your application, and give them more substance to write about.To ensure admissions tutors get the right impression about your students, here are some tips from university staff on how to do just that. If you don't know your tutor very well, I would recommend asking to meet with him/her to talk about your application and the reference. Evidence of commitment - either based on conversations you have had or your work experience. confidence, integrity, intellectual agility, empathy, etc. They might cover your: Academic suitability/excellence/track record/predicted grades Personal suitability for medicine - some appraisal of your personal characteristics, e.g. They can cover similar things to your personal statement but with a slightly more academic focus as there isn't much space for you to do that in the PS. I would provide your tutor with a list of important points about application - top scoring modules, achievements at university, etc. I have only previously seen one medical school score references and they only gave extra points if the referee said something along the lines of the student being 'the best' they had ever taught/met/mentored/etc. Most medical schools will require you to have 'satisfactory' (or something similar) references. I suspect it doesn't matter very much - medical schools aren't likely to score references because they often say more about the referee than the candidate.

Ucas reference example