Writing an Effective Cover Letter for Submission
Look no further for sound tips on how to craft an effective journal submission cover letter that will persuade journal editors to read your research article! Cover letters have been shown to influence an editor’s choice on whether or not to read your research paper. As a result, the purpose of this guide is to (1) explain why writing a po is important. In this article, you’ll find suggestions on how to write a compelling journal submission cover letter that will persuade journal editors to read your research paper.. Cover letters have been shown to influence an editor’s choice on whether or not to read your research paper. In this lesson, we’ll go over why it’s important to write a strong cover letter, what to include, and how to format it. Last but not least, you’ll be able to download a submission cover letter template that includes step-by-step instructions and sample language. As a final step, Wordvice’s expert academic editors can help you edit your cover letter to ensure that it conveys an academic style and error-free text, as well as includes all of the most relevant content.
Why is a well-written cover letter so important?
In contrast to the role of your research paper, a powerful cover letter is your opportunity to “sell” the notion of your research to journal editors by highlighting its significance.
In contrast to the role of your research paper, a powerful cover letter is your opportunity to “sell” the notion of your research to journal editors by highlighting its significance.
As a publisher, we have to recognize that a portion of our decision-making process is based on financial considerations. Editors need to choose content that will pique the interest of their readers in order to keep them coming back. To put it simply, if your paper is published, it has to bring in money for the publisher. The only chance you have to persuade editors that your research paper merits further consideration is through your cover letter, especially if the title and substance of your paper aren’t enough to pique their interest.
Cover letters are used by many editors as a means of determining whether or not a writer is capable of following directions. It’s possible that even if your research is the most forward-thinking in the world, a journal’s author guide will reject your article if you fail to include disclosures, potential reviewers, and remarks about ethical standards. A lack of attention to detail in a cover letter could lead editors to question the quality and breadth of your study if you don’t follow instructions. The impression you’re giving editors isn’t what you want!
What to Include in a Journal Submission Cover Letter
We cannot emphasize this enough: Be sure you adhere to the journal’s author instructions! Be sure to focus on the information specifically asked by journal editors, regardless of what other advice or tips you find on the wide webosphere. As previously stated, a “desk rejection” will be issued if the required assertions are not included.
As a result, we’ve compiled a list of the most important information to include in your cover letter, as well as information to omit:
The following is the most important information:
What are the most important results and their value to science? (how your research advances our understanding of a concept)
Information on how to get in touch with the author(s) in question
All authors have signed off on the manuscript’s submission to this journal, and it has not been previously published or under consideration elsewhere.
Other frequently asked questions:
A list of prior articles in the target publication that are comparable to this one.
Make a list of relevant publications that you or your co-authors have already made or that are now being considered by other journals. This task may be included in your package.
Reference to previous talks with the editor(s) is acceptable (for example, if you discussed the topic with an editor at a conference)
Competencies needed to evaluate your paper Potential reviewers and how to reach them
Reviewers will be able to exclude if necessary (this information is most likely also requested elsewhere in online submissions forms)
The journal requires further disclosures/statements from authors (e.g., compliance with ethical standards, conflicts of interest, agreement to terms of submission, copyright sign-over, etc.)
The following are things you should avoid:
Don’t use too many acronyms or jargon in your writing.
Don’t exaggerate the relevance of your research or your conclusions. Avoid using terms like “new,” “first,” and “paradigm-changing” when describing your work. Using these kinds of remarks will raise doubts about your capacity to objectively evaluate your work’s merits.
Don’t mention your name. Listing potential supporters of your article and bringing up the reputations of the authors is not something that editors are particularly interested in. Focus completely on addressing the question of whether or not your material meets their standards.
Don’t churn out a book. In order to make your work and its concept clear to editors, your cover letter should not exceed one page in length. The purpose of this letter is to provide a quick introduction and overview of the project.
Keep your sense of humor in check. Despite our best efforts, there are far too many ways for humor to go wrong to attract the editors’ attention!
A cover letter’s structure can be summed up as follows:
Your cover letter should be written in formal manner. The template below is in an e-mail format adjusted for electronic submissions. For PDFs or hard copy letters, the upper-left corner of the page should contain your contact information unless you use pre-printed letterhead, in which case your information should be centered at the top of the letter.
For journal submission cover letters, use this template.
Forename and last name of the journal editor
and a graduate degree, if any
If the addressee has any advanced degrees, it is usual to mention them in the letter’s body.
Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Co-Editors-in-Chief are examples of titles.
(Journal Name)
[URL of the Journal]
Month, day, and year of submission
Greetings Dr./Mr./Ms. [Editor’s last name]:
The journal’s appropriate title, such as “Dear Managing Editor:” or “Dear Editor-in-Chief:,” might be used in the absence of the editor’s name. However, it is preferable to use the person’s full name.
You should never use “Miss” or “Mr.” in professional business correspondence.
As many as two to three sentences can be found in [Para.1]. Our paper, [“Title,”] is being considered for publication in [Journal Name][Article Type]. In one or two sentences, outline the study design, if relevant, your research topic, the most important results you found, and the conclusion you came to. [Pitch.]
For example, I’m writing to ask for your consideration of our manuscript, “X Marks the Spot,” for publication in the Awesome Science Journal’s research section.. The effectiveness of employing X characteristics as depression indicators in Y participants in Z regions was evaluated through a 12-month prospective cohort study and we can validate the importance of monitoring the levels of X to identify the beginning of depression independent of geographical impacts.
When discussing your findings and conclusions, the following words and phrases can be helpful:
Two to five sentences [Para. 2] That’s why we think our findings will be of interest to [Reader Profile] who are subscribers to [Journal Name], given the setting in which you conducted your research. To the extent that our findings coincide with the journal’s Aims and Scope, they will be useful to your readers.
Find out what kind of readers the publication attracts, and how your research might help those readers better comprehend the topic at hand. Write on how your findings can help other researchers better address public problems, for example, if many readers of your chosen journal are interested in the public policy implications of various research projects.
When addressing a research question, it’s helpful to provide context.
We were motivated to establish a cost-effective and universal methodology that local school administrators can utilize to screen pupils because of the struggle policymakers have had to specify suitable criteria to diagnose the onset of depression in teenagers.
If your work was spurred by previous research, be sure to include it in your introduction. When Y approached us for a follow-up study on Z after our original investigation on X, for example, It became clear to us during the course of this endeavor that we needed to communicate our findings with our colleagues via a journal article.
e.g., We feel that the data given in our research will be of interest to education officials who subscribe to The Journal of Education because of the worrying increase in depression rates among adolescents and the lack of any uniform practical assessments for screening students. Even while past research has found a few approaches, such as X and Y, that may be utilized in depression screening, the applications built from those discoveries have been prohibitively expensive and impossible to administer on a national scale We hope that the information you present here will aid in developing more cost-effective screening strategies for depression among teenagers, as well as a better understanding of the factors involved in early detection of depression in this population. In this way, we hope that our research can help school administrators find new ways to deal with the issues they face on a daily basis.
Section 3: Related works [Paraphrased as: Prior research undertaken by [Authors] and published in [Journal Name] has been expanded upon in this publication.” in the following papers published by [Journal Name], this study [examines a different element of]/ [takes a different approach to]
If your target publication has recently published any findings that are similar to your own, be sure to mention them, but don’t go overboard. Replace the previous statement with “This study [examines a different aspect of]/ [takes a different approach to] the topics discussed by [Authors] in [Piece Title], also published by] [Journal Name] on [DATE]” if you only wish to refer to one article.
Addendums are almost always necessary [Para. 4]. Authors have signed off on the fact that no other journal is interested in this work at this time. Aside from the fact that this paper’s content has been approved by all of its authors, it has also been accepted by [Journal Name].
In the event that you’ve already published a portion of your research elsewhere, be sure to mention it. “We have presented a portion of our findings [at Event]/[as a Type of Publication Medium] in [Location] in [Year].”
Our research has now expanded to include international feasibility, and we’ve collected fresh data that’s given us a better grasp on geographic influences.
Yes, I’d like to review this product! The following individuals would be excellent candidates to serve as reviewers or referees for our manuscript if you decide to submit it for peer review. They have the necessary training and experience to provide an unbiased assessment of our findings and conclusions.
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