Letter to the editor from the referee Nowadays most journals use electronic forms for the referees to submit their recommendations to the editor. 

However, if that's not the case, how should the letter to the editor be structured?

In the referee report I have already mentioned some points I consider should be revised. But, do I have to explicitly state these points in the letter? or should I just say that the points mentioned in the referee report should be considered before publication?
The cover letter should probably state:


The title and authors of the article you have reviewed (short list of authors "X et al." is fine)
Your recommendation for the disposition of the article (accept as is, reject, recommend major changes, etc.)
Any other important information that you wish to note. This could be anything exceptional, whether that be good (perhaps the article should be considered for "cover" status) or bad (for example, if you suspect something dishonest).


All other points can be addressed by referring the editor to the referee report.