Cover Letters

Submitting your manuscript to an academic journa is a significant step in the research publication process. A well-drafted cover letter can set the tone for editorial review and help communicate the importance of your work in addition to what is included in your article. This page guides you through writing two type of cover letters.
Student peer reviewing a project and making corrections in red

Initial Cover Letter

When submitting a manuscript for the first time, your cover letter should be formal, focuses, and tailored to the specific journal. Its purpose is to introduce your work, explain its relevance, and affirm your adherence to submission policies. The cover letter should include:

  • The title and type of your manuscript
  • A brief summary of the study and its key findings
  • Why the manuscript is a good fit for the journal
  • An explanation of the originality of your work as well confirming it is not under consideration elsewhere
  • Any relevant disclosures such as conflicts of interest

There are several sources offering advice on writing an introductory cover letter to the editors explaining why you wrote your manuscript and why you are submitting such as AJE or Elsevier. Some tips for success include but are not limited to:

  1. Keep the letter professional and concise
  2. Tailer each letter to the journal's scope and follow any specific instructions
  3. Avoid restating the abstract by highlighting relevance and novelty of the topic

Responding to Reviewers

After reviewing your submission to an academic journal, the editors may have requested that you edit your manuscript according to suggestions made by peer reviewers who have evaluated its content. This is a typical part of the publication process for peer-reviewed research publications, whether they are affiliated with a university or another organization. Resubmission to a research journal does not guarantee publication, but a well-written cover letter with thorough responses to reviewers will show its editors that you are dedicated to your work and willing to improve upon it. 

  1. Your manuscript contains grammatical errors.  For example, on page 3, you used “their” when you should  have used “there.”
  2. We have thoroughly proofread the manuscript and corrected all grammatical errors.
  3. The second paragraph of your introduction needs more details about findings by Owl and colleagues (2017).  Be sure to explain their operational definition of “school spirit.”

We agree with Reviewer 1’s assessment of this paragraph and have decided to expand upon it.  We have provided a more detailed summary of Owl and colleagues’ findings, including the operational definition they used for “school spirit” for their study. 

  1. On pages 1 and 6, you did not include the year of publication in an in-text citation.
  2. We have included years of publication as they correspond to the sources listed on the references page.
  3. Two of the sources in your references lack a hanging indentation.
  4. This error has been corrected; all sources are correctly formatted with hanging indentations.

Unless otherwise specified in the email your received from the editors, you may choose whether or not to make any suggested changes.  However, even if you do not change something that has been suggested, you must still address the suggestion in your response, and you must provide a compelling argument for your decision.

  1. “Theatre” should be spelled “theater” because “theatre” is not the standard American English spelling.  This is a repeating occurrence.
  2. While Reviewer 1 is correct that most Americans do spell the word “theater,” scholars in my field would accept the use of “theatre” in the context in which I use it in this manuscript.  Thus, I have chosen not to change this spelling.
Additionally, you should:
  • Use a professional letter format (i.e., address the correct audience, state your purpose, and be signed by the author(s) of the manuscript) for your cover letter.
  • Use a professional tone (i.e., use polite wording throughout the cover letter and response to reviewers, including when making your case for choosing not to follow a reviewer’s suggestion).
  • Make sure you have made any changes both within the manuscript AND described them within your response.
  • Make all changes and resubmit your manuscript, cover letter, and response to reviewers within the time frame allotted by the editors.