Letters of Recommendation / Reference:
What are recommendations/Reference letters for?
Recommendations are meant to provide a third-person perspective on a student, as an individual. The recommendations by a third-person give the university an independent assessment of the skills and qualities of a student.

Points to be looked into while making the recommendation/reference letters:
The recommendation letters, in case of academic references, must be in the original letter head of the Principal, or HODs, or Professors or Assistant Professors, wherever possible. They should be signed by the concerned person and a rubber stamp of the person who recommends be affixed.
The recommendation letters should expose the skills, attitudes and the extracurricular activities of a student. It should not merely be a Conduct certificate.
The two recommendation letters must be from two different persons with two different texts.
In case the students going for Universities for the MBA with experience, one reference letter is needed from the Academic side and one from the work place.
The students should not make their own recommendations which are then edited by the referees. Remember that these recommendations will stay on the record for a long time to come. So even if it is not caught during the application phase, it's quite possible that they'll come to haunt the student, say, when they are approach for assistance.
The Recommendation letters should not contain many superlatives.
The recommendation letters must be believable in its contents. No exaggeration of facts. It should match up the assessments in the recommendation with the hard figures that the transcripts reveal.
The recommendation letters must talk of the personality of the students, since these things are not reflected elsewhere.
The recommendation letters must speak out the goals of the students.