Who's writing your recommendation?

Recommendations play a great deal in getting you admitted to a prestigious university. Even though your academic grades and standardised test scores are the major components, there are secondary factors like essays, extracurricular activities and recommendation letters that play a silent role in your admission decisions.
As Harvard's dean William Fitzsimmons says, recommendation letters are "extremely important" and admissions officers are looking for letters that reveal "intellectual curiosity, creativity, and love of learning." 
What do recommendations do?
They endorse your ability to do well at college, highlight your strengths, mention your weaknesses and address them in a constructive manner.
How many?
Most of the universities require at least one recommendation letter from a counsellor and one or two from the teachers. It gives the university a chance to get feedback from people you have worked closely with. You could ask a teacher, whom you impressed in class with your commitment, effort, or interest in a subject to write an impressive recommendation. While there are no hard and fast rules on who should write the recommendation letter, it is always preferred to get it done by someone who is in a capacity to comment holistically about you.
The recommendations have to be personalised; specific examples always make strong recommendations.
Some of the areas the recommendation can cover are:
Relationship
The introduction should talk about the referee's relationship to you: The duration of the relationship and the capacity in which the reference was made sets the tone and provides the background for the recommendation.
Academic performance
A brief description of the course, the rigour and comments on your performance: This allows the reader to gauge how well you manage academic expectations.
Specific details of the academic achievements and performance: This can highlight your desire to learn, your motivation and how you apply course knowledge.
Character and attitude
Commenting on your attributes and overall character can bring to life your values and beliefs. A brief description of your interaction with peers also reflects on your abilities to be part of a campus community. Your ability to handle feedback and criticism will bring out your personal qualities. 
Goals and future
A paragraph on the future goals and referee's thoughts about what will be your contributions to the academic and campus community and your readiness for college will be worthwhile additions too.
In short, a recommendation letter is an expert's testimony regarding your ability to handle any task or situation. Whatever format the letter follows, what matters the most is how well the letter talks about your suitability for the course and for college life in general.
Recommendations are very important part of your application; make them count. 
Shyamala Elango is Director, Educational Services at Inner Universe (elango.shyamala@inneruniverse.org).