How to write a cover letter

Many journals require that you write a cover letter that accompanies your paper upon submission. However, it may not be clear from the guidelines for authors what is expected for this cover letter.

In general, your cover letter should contain the following elements:
  • It should be addressed to the editor of the journal.
  • It should mention that you prepared the manuscript according to the guidelines. If the formatting guidelines have a limiting word count, mention the word count of your manuscript.
  • It should contain a short description of why you consider your work interesting for the readers of the journal.
  • It should mention that the manuscript is original and has not been published previously. If you’ve shown a preliminary analysis of these results in a conference paper, you should mention this fact.
  • Print your cover letter on official university paper and include your signature.

For your convenience, I've developed a template that you can use to write a cover letter. Just copy and paste the text that you can find below, and fill in the relevant information for the text in italix:

Place and Date

Dear Professor Editor,

I hope you will consider the attached manuscript, “Title of Manuscript” for publication in Journal.

The manuscript is prepared according to the guidelines for authors. The topic of study is explain the topic of study in this paragraph.

The readers of Journal might be interested my work – explain here how your work and results could be interesting for the readership of the journal.

This original manuscript has not been previously published. The manuscript is currently not submitted to any other journal for consideration. A preliminary study on the topic was submitted as a conference paper for Conference, if that was the case.

Your comments and feedback on this study are valuable and of great interest to our research.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Signature
Your name






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am Ghayda Aljuwaiser, and This is How I Work

Image
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ghayda Aljuwaiser. Ghayda is a doctoral student @ SHU (Sheffield Hallam University), 4th year, in the C3RI (Communications & Media Department). Her thesis is exploring Saudi women’s online practices on social media platforms . She worked as a lecturer between 2009 - 2013 @ KAU (King Abdulaziz University), Jeddah - Saudi Arabia, taught several modules in Sociology and Communication, to - female - bachelor students. In her free time she Tweets , writes/ blogs , reads and goes to the Theatre! General: Current Job : I hold a position as a T.A @ Media & Communication Faculty - KAU in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, granted a scholarship from the department of communication skills to pursue my PhD in the UK since 2013 . Current Location : Sheffield, UK Current mobile device : iPhone 6s plus Current computer : MacBook, 12 inches Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us? Currently a PhDeir @ SHU (Sheffield Hallam University), C...
Read more

I am Stephanie Zihms, and This is How I Work

Image
Today, I am interviewing Dr. Stephanie Zihms in the "How I Work" series. Stephanie is currently working as a postdoc in Carbonate Geomechanics in the Institute of Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. Her research tries to understand why rocks deform the way they do and what controls this deformation – crystal size, crystal shape, pore size or pore shape? Or is it the mineralogy or how the rocks formed in the first place? By deforming different rocks under different conditions in the lab she is trying to find some answers. This research and the findings are relevant for a range of subsurface processes like hydrocarbon extraction, geothermal energy production or Carbon Capture & Storage applications. Basically anytime a liquid or gas is put into the subsurface or extracted from the subsurface the conditions change and the rocks will response to this change – by understanding what controls this response within the rocks (crystals, grains or pores) we can better p...
Read more

I am Susan Thomson, and This is How I Work

Image
Today, I am interviewing Dr. Susan Thomson for the "How I Work" series. Susan Thomson (sthomson@colgate.edu) is Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies. Her research is dedicated to understanding how systems of power structure the lives of individuals in so-called times of peace. She also studies the practical and ethical challenges of doing field-based research in post-conflict settings. Thomson is the author of Whispering Truth to Power: Everyday Resistance to Reconciliation in Post-Genocide Rwanda (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013); and co-editor of Emotional and Ethical Challenges for Field Research in Africa: The Story Behind the Findings (Palgrave, 2013). Her latest book, Rwanda: From Genocide to Precarious Peace is forthcoming in February 2018 with Yale University Press. General: Current Job : Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, and director, Women's Studies Program, Colgate University Current Location : Hamilton, NY Current mobile devic...
Read more