How to Write Cover Letters

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][minti_iconbox icon=”fa-pencil-square-o ” title=”Introduction to Cover Letters”]from an email by Bob Hamers, Jan 10, 2017

While we’ve had a lot of discussion about how to write papers, there’s another important part of getting a paper published—the Cover Letter. The cover letter goes to the journal editor and describes what’s in the paper and, most importantly, the importance of the work.  Most journal editors are given freedom to decide if manuscripts should be sent out for review or should be “triaged” and rejected without review.  So, the very first step in getting a paper accepted is getting the editor to recognize that you have something interesting that is important and worth sending out for review – but without assuming the editor will read the paper.

Writing a good cover letter is particularly important for CSN work because the interdisciplinary nature of our work sometimes makes it not-so-obvious where the work should be submitted.

In any case, since many of you may be asked to write draft cover letters for the papers you are writing, I generally writecover letters in four short paragraphs:

  1. Title and authors
  2. Brief summary of background (if needed) relevant to understanding the impact: very “big picture”. What’s the big problem?
  3. What was done in the paper and major findings
  4. Why it is important in the broader context of science and why the particular journal chosen is the best place to publish the work.

In most cases this all fits on one page.  Sometimes spilling over to a 2nd.  But short is good.[/minti_iconbox][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][minti_iconbox icon=”fa-commenting-o” title=”The Art of the Cover Letter”]by Jason H. Hafner (Associate Editor), ACS Nano, 2010, 4 (5), pp 2487–2487. doi: 10.1021/nn100907e[/minti_iconbox][/vc_column][/vc_row]