Students and RAs, do you need a letter of recommendation? Take a few minutes to get organized, so that you can approach me or any other recommender in a way that minimizes work for all involved. ("I need a letter of rec by Friday. Help?" sent from your mobile device is not a good start.)
What is required for a letter? My colleague Kim Yi Dionne has written a helpful blog post about how students should approach the letter of recommendation process. Rather than re-invent the wheel here, I simply request that students read it before requesting a letter from me. My policies generally align with hers.
She links to a form that she has students fill out. I don't need a form, but I do need all of that information.