When I studied at a university in Fuzhou, I wrote a fair few things for friends (both students and teachers) - admissions applications, letters of reference, es

When I studied at a university in Fuzhou, I wrote a fair few things for friends (both students and teachers) - admissions applications, letters of reference, essays, correspondence etc. Some was just helping with language errors, some was translation and some was just downright faking (ie. "my professor is my brothers cousins uncles best friend, he said you can write whatever you want"). I figured I wrote my fair share of bullshit on my university application and subsequent job forms, so this wasn't much different... One of the most common problems was just about bridging the gap between Chinese/Western expectations - Chinese reference letters are sometimes pages long, and filled with flowery and extravagant language to describe the candidate, whereas a Western reference letter would be concise, professional and often maybe just 2-3 short paragraphs.