How to write a Good Cover Letter (Mailing)

Writing a cover letter is one of the important tasks needed for a complete and composed graduate application. Some graduate programs require a cover letter explicitly as a supporting document and also encourage contacting professors beforehand. But writing a cover letter is also very necessary while emailing professors or research instructors for an internship or a Research Assistantship. In this article, we mainly touch upon the points to remember while writing an email to apply for a position in their lab.

A cover letter could be written on the same basic information required to write an SoP. However, the style and structure are different. A cover letter should have six distinct parts as follows.

1. Introduction: After addressing the person you want to email, take one to two sentences to write an introduction about yourself and where you are currently positioned. In the following sentence, mention your research work/interest(s), linking it to why you are emailing the person as mentioned earlier. This paragraph will help the receiver sort out your email if they are interested in your application.
2. Background: This is where you impress the professor with your academic background. Do mention your specific academic achievements or work experiences relevant to the application and the research topic. You can also specify some resources that can support your claims, such as a well-organized LinkedIn page or a website that contains your research. Be sure to make this portion as succinct as possible otherwise, the reader will be confused.
3. Your Plan: Next will be what you want to achieve if you get this opportunity. Typically an applicant simply writes that they want to contribute to the ongoing research in the instructor’s lab. Still, it would help if you tried to add some specific idea(s) or technique(s) to their research to improve your chances of getting noticed. A particular idea may not be that easy to find, but you have to devote sufficient reading time to the instructor’s research to make an impression that you are genuinely interested in their field.
4. Why You?: The most unconventional part of a cover letter is to prove yourself more eligible than other applicants. This section may be more relevant for those applying for an internship program or a fellowship, but you can add one sentence in your email. You have to focus on your unique skills such as operating equipment, software, or even rare experiences in these fields. This section should be very personal, and I will recommend you explore your interest, experiences as well as skills that you can defend well.
5. Conclusion: In the end, you can summarize your application stating the details of the position you’re interested in. Try to make it read like you are excited about the position and the possibilities that come with it. Request your reader to respond according to their convenience. Also, mention if you have a scholarship in mind so that the complete message is conveyed.
6. Relevant resources: Last but not least, the cover letter in an email should be concise and well-composed. You can add some alternative resources that can help the reader with more information if they are interested. Apart from your CV, you may add your personal website(s) or LinkedIn profile.

A similar structure could be followed to write an official cover letter for a graduate application. You can emphasize the 4th point to convince the admission committee how you can contribute more to the ongoing research.

Good Luck!