Crafting an Effective Cover Letter for Your Scientific Paper

Submitting a scientific paper is a significant milestone in your academic or research career. As you
prepare to share your findings with the world, it's crucial to accompany your manuscript with a well-
crafted cover letter. A compelling cover letter not only introduces your work but also serves as a tool
to make a strong first impression on journal editors. To help you navigate this essential component of
the submission process, here's a guide on creating an effective cover letter for your scientific paper.

1. Address the Editor Professionally

Begin your cover letter by addressing the editor or editorial team professionally. Use their full name
and academic title if available. If you're unsure, a generic salutation such as "Dear Editor-in-Chief"
is acceptable.

2. Provide a Concise Introduction

In the opening paragraph, briefly introduce yourself and your co-authors, highlighting your
qualifications and expertise relevant to the paper. Include the title of your manuscript and the journal
you are submitting to.

3. Clearly State the Purpose of Your Paper

Clearly articulate the purpose of your paper in the next section. Provide a concise summary of your
research question, methodology, and key findings. Highlight the significance of your work and its
contribution to the existing body of knowledge.

4. Justify the Fit with the Journal

Demonstrate why your manuscript is a good fit for the target journal. Mention specific aspects of the
journal's scope, mission, or recent publications that align with your research. This shows the editor
that you've carefully chosen their journal for a reason.

5. Highlight Novelty and Significance

Emphasize the novel aspects of your research and explain its significance in advancing the field. This
is an opportunity to convince the editor that your paper brings something new and valuable to the
scientific community.

6. Include Relevant Citations

Support your claims with relevant citations from the journal you're submitting to, showcasing your
familiarity with its content and contributing to the sense of alignment.

7. Address Potential Concerns

Anticipate and address potential concerns the editor might have about your manuscript. If there are
limitations or challenges in your research, be transparent about them and explain how they have been
addressed or could be mitigated.

8. Provide Any Additional Information

Include any additional information required by the journal, such as conflicts of interest, ethical
considerations, or suggested reviewers. Follow the journal's guidelines closely to ensure a smooth
submission process.

9. Express Your Enthusiasm

Conclude your cover letter by expressing your enthusiasm for the opportunity to contribute to the
journal. Thank the editor for their time and consideration.

10. Proofread and Format Professionally

Before submitting, carefully proofread your cover letter for any grammatical errors or typos. Ensure
that it adheres to the journal's formatting guidelines, presenting a polished and professional
document.

As you embark on the journey of submitting your scientific paper, a well-crafted cover letter is your
chance to make a positive impression. Take the time to tailor each cover letter to the specific journal,
showcasing the unique contributions of your research. For further assistance in optimizing your cover
letter and enhancing your submission, consider the expert services available at
BestResumeHelp.com .
Instead, aim to outline your intentions in the opening line. Understanding the correlation between
Instagram use and mental wellbeing can lead to the creation of health campaigns and establishing
ways to enhance the positive effect of social media while minimizing the negative outcomes. This
manuscript is based on a chapter of my doctoral thesis, supervised by Dr Hoccleve Specialist, and
has not been published or submitted elsewhere for consideration. Wrong I talked to about 100
students who often use the Internet. The authors also need to consider the journal’s Aims and Scope
to underscore how the manuscript would fit within the journal’s scope and attract potential readers (
13 ). Mention why your study is important and who might benefit from it. Of course, you should
only include keywords that are relevant to the role and reflect your actual experience. It provides
practical advice on planning, preparing and submitting articles for publication in scholarly journals. A
scientific and polite approach should spell out why the authors disagree, never losing sight of the
reviewer’s opinion ( 19 ). Simply act natural and let your actual experiences and values come to the
fore. She also recommends that the authors need to provide a future perspective beyond the main
take-home message of the manuscript for a trends paper and take a strong and novel stance on a
hypothesis or idea for a cover letter of an opinion manuscript ( 14 ). Please enable JavaScript to view
the comments powered by Disqus. Has the same problem been addressed by other approaches.
Register now for weekly insights direct to your inbox. Even fruit given only LED lighting and
deprived of all natural sunlight far exceeded the vitamin C content of those tomatoes exposed to
natural sunlight alone. Your goal? To make them read your resume like it’s got a giant funding grant
inside. Put the Abstract in the Middle of Your Cover Letter for Journal Submission The editor’s
attention spiked after the intro, but now it dropped. Below are some tips for writing compelling
cover letters that encourage the editor to consider your manuscript for review. If you have questions,
feel free to email a journal editor for clarification. CV Help Improve your CV with help from expert
guides. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used
specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as
non-necessary cookies. Instead, you should thank the journal editor for his or her assessment and the
reviewers’ time and comments. Updated on September 20, 2018 The cover letter accompanying your
journal submission is your chance to lobby on behalf of your manuscript. This guide will show you: A
cover letter for journal submissions better than 9 out of 10 others. It is suggested that the cover letter
be written on the authors’ institutional letterhead to display professionalism and reliability ( 20, 21 ).
5.2. Don’ts When authors suggest a number of potential reviewers, they should avoid suggesting
their friends and colleagues, as this would be viewed as a conflict of interest. For more information,
please visit our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy. The statements are expected to answer the
following questions: (1) why is the work important? (e.g., emphasizing a new measurement, a new
diagnostic method or criterion, a newly discovered biological process); and (2) how does the work
advance current knowledge in the field. Jacob Midwinter, Director of Sales and Search by SRG,
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time, more options, and more success Explore Researcher.Life now! 3. Motivation for submitting to
the journal: After the short summary, add a sentence regarding the suitability of your study for the
journal.
Instead, if you take sentences from your abstract as a base to work from, then try to craft a much
shorter summary that clearly fits the journal's focus and that highlights the implications of your work
for the journal's readers. Wrong I confirm that I am the author of this article and that I used my own
funds to conduct research. The second paragraph usually “signals attention to the reviewers’
comments” by providing an explicit reference to the comments made by the reviewers and the editor.
If you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one
for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication, which is
available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website. Cover Letter for
Journal Submission—Mandatory Clauses Right I declare that this manuscript is original and has not
been published before. Let’s be honest; “ I increased lab efficiency by 35% ” sounds more
impressive than the vague “ I increased lab efficiency.”. A cover letter that is tailored to the journal,
introduces your work persuasively, and is free from spelling and grammatical errors can help prime
the editor to view your submission positively before he or she even looks over your manuscript. The
objective should be to place your findings in the context of the current literature. All authors
approved the manuscript and this submission.”. My methods comply with the journal’s ethical
standards, I have no conflicts of interest to disclose and I have removed all traces of my identity in
preparation for blind review. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact
your librarian. Try to focus on how your paper fits the journal’s aims and scope. These cookies do not
store any personal information. How to Write a Resume Learn how to make a resume that gets
interviews. Please use the cover letter to declare that the manuscript is not currently being considered
for publication in any other journal and, if necessary, please include any reviewers you wish to
recommend or exclude (including the reasons why). We examined the efficacy of using X factors as
indicators for depression in Y subjects in Z regions through a 12-month prospective cohort study and
can confirm that monitoring the levels of X is critical to identifying the onset of depression,
regardless of geographical influences. Since your journal regularly includes articles about similar
topics, I think my study is a good fit here. Ouch. That’s really vague. It also includes a free journal
cover letter template. Here, we provide a practical guide to draft a well-written, concise, and
professional cover letter for a scientific medical paper. Our specialist editors, translators, and writers
are available to help create or revise the content to be error-free and, as part of our additional
comprehensive Guidelines for Authors service, we can ensure the cover letter includes all of the
statements required by the journal. They told me about the emotions they felt while browsing social
media platforms. Most students frequently felt upset and envious of successful influencers. My
colleagues and I at the Private Plant Research Institute in Coquitlam conducted the research and
coauthored the manuscript; a full list of the names and affiliations of all ten coauthors is attached.
The article is based solely on my research as child psychologist over the years. Instead, aim to outline
your intentions in the opening line. You can’t just say “I’m skilled in.” You’ll have to show a few
resume achievements. In this case, the resubmission cover letter need not repeat the information that
was provided on initial submission. You must link your work to the journal’s target audience. The
cover letter should explain why your work is perfect for their journal and why it will be of interest to
the journal’s readers. Related Posts Responding to Peer Reviewer Comments: A Free Example Letter
July 6, 2021 Rene Tetzner Writing a Cover Letter To Submit a Research Paper for Publication
Responding to Peer Reviewer Comments: A Free Example Letter Responding to the comments peer
reviewers offer when they assess your research paper can be as challenging as writing the original
manuscript, especially when the necessity of revising your paper to. If you are a member of an
institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways.
You will receive cover letter instructions of what you should include and what you shouldn’t, and a
word template cover letter. Showing you know the job duties makes your letter about them. Ask
yourself the following questions to arrive at the major strengths of your study. PhD Thesis Editing
Services Ensure that you write your cover letter with extreme care and then proofread, edit and
revise your prose until it is polished to perfection. One of the unexpected discoveries we made as we
determined which plants and lights produced the best results was that vitamin C content appeared to
increase when the ripening fruit was exposed to LED light. And are the mechanistic insights being
leveraged to improve the understanding of the disease or the intervention. What types of validation
support the robustness of the findings. Likewise, aim to remove anything that doesn’t add value.
Begin Your Cover Letter for Journal Submission Strong Scientific journals receive hundreds of
submissions on a daily basis. The format of a traditional business letter has been observed, so contact
information for the authors and editors has been provided as complete mailing addresses. For your
reference I have attached the copy of the article. The originality that should characterise an excellent
cover letter therefore prevents the wholesale use of a universal template without significant
alterations, but the three sample letters that appear below may prove helpful for scholars who are
planning, formatting and drafting a professional cover letter to a journal editor. Here you will find
options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access
usage statistics, and more. When using the template, you can retain the statements in full, revise them
slightly as appropriate to your circumstances, replace them with any similar wording required by the
journal, or delete them if they do not fit your specific situation. If there are several co-editors, the
person the author feels has the most appropriate background, and specialty of the topic should be
addressed. Personalization cookies are also used to deliver content, including ads, relevant to your
interests on our Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with our advertisements or
content as well as track the content you access (including video viewing). A well-written and
informative cover letter helps the journal’s editor to be informed about the work and its significance.
It is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere. The cover letter should not be general
but should be custom-written for the target journal. Once you’ve chosen a greeting, you’ll need a
killer opening line. The authors should carefully check the letter for any spelling and grammatical
errors ( 11, 20 ). The best approach to answer this question is by describing the current state of
knowledge in the field and clarifying how the work provides an added value by answering a
previously unanswered question, finding the solution to a problem, or improving existing methods (
5 ). You can refer to prior work that you have published if it is directly related. Many arguments can
be made for and against these questions. I believe that this article would be helpful not only to
students appearing for their but also to their parents and teachers. For your reference I have attached
the copy of the article. Advertising These cookies are placed by third-party companies to deliver
targeted content based on relevant topics that are of interest to you. The importance of the study,
including novelty, potential implications, and its take-home message, are addressed in the second
paragraph of the cover letter body. Checking the recently published papers on similar topics in the
journal provides new insights for the authors to clarify in the cover letter as to how the manuscript
follows the publication trends of the journal and will add something new that would be relevant to
the trend ( 12 ). If the manuscript belongs to a special issue or is being submitted upon an official
invitation from the journal’s editorial office, it should also be addressed.
To Improve the Quality of Papers Effective proofreading is absolutely vital to the production of
high-quality scholarly and professional documents. Read More Blog What STEM skills do you need
to futureproof your career. Also, you can download our template cover letter (Word file) to help you
save time writing and help you remember to include standard author statements and other
information commonly required by journals. Rate my article: journal submission cover letter example
Average: 5 ( 9 votes) Thank you for voting Roma Konczak Roma is a career expert with international
work experience and a background in education and humanities. Each individual filled out a self-
assessment questionnaire to provide an overview of their self-esteem and to describe their Instagram
habits. About About Find out more about Zety and its career experts. Pro Tip: Always be upfront
about a potential conflict of interest, especially when your research was financed by a private
institution. Resume Examples See perfect resume samples that get jobs. Your intro will set the tone
for the reader, so make sure you are forthright and direct, but also aim to demonstrate your
uniqueness and suitability for the role as early as possible. The style and format of research
manuscripts are constrained for good reasons: they make it easier to find and interpret the
information. The authors also should declare if any part of the submitted work has been previously
published elsewhere, even as an abstract ( 16 ); e.g., “there is some overlap in the content of the
introduction section, which we have noted in the text”. Learn how to optimize your application and
become your own personal brand evangelist with our content writer resume samples. Does it have a
reputation for quality in the subject area or for publishing similar types of scientific advances. Let the
former act as your guide; follow it closely and you’ll be better placed to prove your suitability to the
hiring manager. Promoting ourselves can often feel uncomfortable, and writing in a persuasive,
compelling style is already difficult enough. Make sure to also include your contact information,
degree, and the academic institution that backs you up. Inclusion in an NLM database does not
imply endorsement of, or agreement with. Pro Tip: Writing about your research in English may not be
as natural to you as chatting with fellow researchers over lunch. Career Advice Improve your career
with expert tips and strategies. Offer something. Promise to talk about how you can help improve
their process, cut costs, or hit some other goal you know they’d like to reach. It is not currently being
considered for publication elsewhere. We examined the efficacy of using X factors as indicators for
depression in Y subjects in Z regions through a 12-month prospective cohort study and can confirm
that monitoring the levels of X is critical to identifying the onset of depression, regardless of
geographical influences. We would like to have the manuscript considered for publication in
Pathobiology. They told me about the emotions they felt while browsing social media platforms.
Most students frequently felt upset and envious of successful influencers. This is your main chance
to highlight the value of your work to the journal editor, so keep this short and focused. (Journal
editors may receive thousands of submissions annually, and many fulfill editing duties on top of
their own research and teaching schedule, so you should strive to make their jobs easier by providing
as concise a summary as possible.). And allow you to better interact with social media platforms
such as Facebook. Please let me know of your decision at your earliest convenience. If you require
assistance, please scroll down and use one of the contact options to get in touch. Create your cover
letter now Use this cover letter template Sample cover letter for a resume— See more cover letter
samples and create your cover letter here. You will revise and polish these sentences to complete
your cover letter.
A cover letter should be written like a standard business letter: Address the editor formally by name,
if known. Keep in mind that disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. Just cite the
best few science achievements that show you’ve already done the job. I declare that this manuscript
is original and has not been published before. The name of the editor (s) can be easily found on the
journal’s information page. Looking forward to know your views about publishing it. Finally, be sure
to get journal manuscript editing, cover letter editing, and other academic editing services by
Wordvice’s professional editors to ensure that you convey an academic style and error-free text,
along with including all of the most important content. References 1. Beatty RH. 175 high-impact
cover letters. We also established a larger number of experimental groups to explore the effects of
variables such as light colour, light intensity, hours of exposure, ambient temperature and presence or
absence of sunlight. The authors should carefully check the letter for any spelling and grammatical
errors ( 11, 20 ). Be careful with medians though, because they—who am I kidding, you could
explain “median” better than I could. 6. End your scientist cover letter with an offer The final part of
your cover letter structure should ask for a meeting. Pro Tip: Many journals, including Nature,
Science, and Elsevier, list the exact information required in the cover letter for journal submissions. It
is always wise to begin by consulting the journal’s guidelines for authors. Instead, if you take
sentences from your abstract as a base to work from, then try to craft a much shorter summary that
clearly fits the journal's focus and that highlights the implications of your work for the journal's
readers. Third, describe the realistic implications of the work. We would like to have the manuscript
considered for publication in Pathobiology. The main contents of the first cover letter are described
in Table 1. Table 1. Components of a First Cover Letter (Submit Letter) Variables Values. Do keep in
mind, however, that the clarity and accessibility offered by a short and simple approach is also
valuable, particularly when writing to an editor who may not share your precise specialisation. If it is
known, the authors must address the editor who will receive the manuscript and handle the peer-
review process ( 13 ). Add your mailing address next, followed by your phone, email address, and
your LinkedIn handle. Read about the vital STEM skills needed to drive the evolution of the STEM
sector and propel your career forward. Learn how to optimize your application and become your
own personal brand evangelist with our content writer resume samples. Read More Guide to
Academic and Scientific Publication How To Get Your Writing Published in Scholarly Journals If
you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one
for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication, which is
available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website. Although the submitted
manuscript may usually pass through the peer-review process and get published regardless of the
cover letter, a well-written, informative, and concise cover letter increases the chance of gaining
acceptance. Depending on the journal’s policy, other statements, including “conflict of interest
statement”, “funding source declarations”, and “permission note”, may also be required to be
included in the cover letter ( 8, 11 ). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. How does
your work relate to articles it has already published, especially in recent months and years. In most
cases, this is easy: simply upload it to the website of your chosen journal and press submit. In a
pinch, you can quote something you like about the organization from their mission statement or the
home page of their website. Resume Resume Builder Create a resume in 5 minutes.
Check this cover letter for journal submission sample to see what I’m talking about: Cover Letter for
Journal Submission—Middle Part Right I’ve conducted interviews with 168 individuals who
declared active use of Instagram, defined as posting on their profiles at least once per day and
interacting with the platform for more than 4 hours a day. Or does the value of the work mostly lie
on the performance and translatability of a slightly improved workflow. In other words, your paper,
if published, must make money. In the same way, you don’t want your cover letter for journal
submission to look sloppy. Conducting research, performing tests, and working on scientific
experiments are a part of your routine. Each individual filled out a self-assessment questionnaire to
provide an overview of their self-esteem and to describe their Instagram habits. We examined the
efficacy of using X factors as indicators for depression in Y subjects in Z regions through a 12-
month prospective cohort study and can confirm that monitoring the levels of X is critical to
identifying the onset of depression, regardless of geographical influences. The format of a traditional
business letter will enable a tidy presentation of the current date, your name, title and contact
information as well as the name, title and contact information of the editor. E-mail cover letters may
not contain more formal letter elements like the date and address block. Be careful with medians
though, because they—who am I kidding, you could explain “median” better than I could. 6. End
your scientist cover letter with an offer The final part of your cover letter structure should ask for a
meeting. In fact, some high-quality and prestigious journals pay specific attention to the cover letter
( 3 ). But what about the letter you need to provide at the time of resubmission (after addressing
reviewers’ comments). This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and
security features of the website. CV Help Improve your CV with help from expert guides. Finally,
be sure to get journal manuscript editing, cover letter editing, and other academic editing services by
Wordvice’s professional editors to ensure that you convey an academic style and error-free text,
along with including all of the most important content. As such it is worth spending time writing a
coherent and persuasive cover letter. Create a Cover Letter Now About About Find out more about
Zety and its career experts. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on
your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
Furthermore, informing the editor (s) regarding any information that will support the submission
(e.g., original or confirmatory data, supplementary materials, relevance, topicality) can be helpful ( 8
). Abstract A cover (covering) letter is a brief business letter introducing the scientific work
alongside the submission process of a manuscript and is required by most scientific peer-review
journals. If you’re not sure why the job is better than all the others out there, do some digging on the
company’s website, in trade publications, and on the web in general. The content of the header and
footer sections of the revised letter is similar to that of the submitted cover letter. Then, write a letter
that explains why the editor would want to publish your manuscript. The authors should carefully
check the letter for any spelling and grammatical errors ( 11, 20 ). Other manuscript characteristics,
including the length and number of tables and figures, can also be indicated. The third paragraph of
the cover letter body includes some statements including authorship agreement, conflicts of interest,
funding source, and ethical considerations. Sometimes great science will be reviewed regardless of
the cover letter, but a well written cover letter is useful for the vast majority of scientists who want
to make their research stand out. Does this study offer any remarkable future implications. This
formality may not be strictly necessary when communicating with a journal editor via email, where
such details are often truncated, but the complete forms are always acceptable, and proper names
and titles are a necessity. The letter is only meant to be an introduction and brief overview.