cover letter

Content – 35 points:

· Must turn in the job posting with the cover letter

· The opening paragraph provides context, and shows enthusiasm and initiative

· The body demonstrates qualifications for the internship/job through specific, concrete examples not vague testimonial language. For example don’t just say “I am motivated.” Letter demonstrates precisely how, in the past, you have proven you are motivated. Gives detailed experiences and achievements. Qualifications should clearly match the job requirements.

· The letter is pointed, powerful, and persuasive (that is, a letter in which you effectively “market your skills, abilities, and knowledge”)

· The closing is respectful and reiterates interest

· The letter keeps the reader’s attention and convinces the reader that you should be chosen

· The letter demonstrates a “You Attitude” – that is, focuses on the needs of the reader

Structure and Logic – 35 points:

· MEETS LETTER FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

· Opening paragraph sets up the issue and ends with a thesis claim that is one succinct sentence

· Internal paragraphs –

· Each have a topic sentence linked to the opening claim

· Evidence in the paragraph only relates to the topic claim (no topic drift)

· Fully explain and support that topic with specific, detailed, and well-chosen evidence

· Demonstrate an interesting and powerful progression of ideas (without redundancy)

· Clear logical transitions between ideas explain connections (“so what?”)

· Closing re-iterates claim, and explains its larger implications

Language – 30 points:

· Language is economical, clear, precise and professional and meets the following qualifications

· Relies upon detailed, specific, concrete statements (free of abstract and vague statements)

· Free of discriminatory or biased language

· Free of weasel words such as “generally,” ” some,” “various,” ”very,” “basically”

· Free of informal, unprofessional or overly conversational language

· Free of jargon and clichés

· Free of long-windedness, redundancies, and weak openings (“My point is that it is very important that people understand the importance of…”)

· Confident, positive, and professional tone (No use of “I believe” phrases.),

· Limits use of passive voice

· Free of “There are” or “It is” constructions

· Free of unnecessarily complex verb tenses, convoluted constructions

· Language is free of grammar and usage errors, including:

· Pronoun disagreement

· Subject-verb disagreement

· Tense changes

· Comma errors

· Unparallel sentence structure

· Misuse of punctuation (e.g., apostrophes, quotation marks, etc.)