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Cover letter to a journal editor

A one-page letter that tells the editor what you found, why it suits their journal and what you declare, without hype.

Your brief

Draft language

Type your details in Arabic or English. Your draft is written in English.

0 / 200
0 / 300

The question, the method and the main result, with a number.

0 / 1,200

Its scope, its readers, or recent articles your work builds on.

0 / 800

Originality, conflicts of interest, funding, data availability, a preprint, suggested reviewers if asked.

0 / 800
Length

Uses up to 286 words of your plan. Only the words actually written are counted.

Not signed in? You can write one free draft as a guest.

What you will get

A medium-length cover letter to the editor of the journal, from your main finding to the declarations.

Your draft

Your draft will appear here. You can edit it or open it in the editor.

What the editor looks for

  1. In the first paragraph: the title, the article type, and the main finding in one sentence an editor outside your niche understands.
  2. Why it fits this journal: its scope and readers, ideally linked to recent work it published.
  3. What is new, stated plainly. "Novel", "groundbreaking" and "first ever" invite scepticism.
  4. The standard declarations: original work, not under review elsewhere, all authors agree, conflicts of interest, funding.
  5. One page at most. Editors decide within minutes whether to send a paper to review.

Recommended workspace settings

Mode
Academic
Emotion
Neutral
Vocabulary
Advanced
Length
Shorter
The whole pack: Research & academia

Prefer to write it yourself?

Start from the outline

The outline opens in the workspace with the recommended settings. Replace each [bracket] with your own words, then rewrite it.

Dear Dr [editor's last name],Please consider our manuscript, "[title]", for publication as a [article type] in [journal].[The question and why it matters, in one or two sentences.][What you did and the main finding, with one number.][Why it suits this journal: its scope or readers, and recent work in it that yours builds on.][Declarations: the work is original and not under consideration elsewhere; all authors approved the submission; conflicts of interest; funding. Suggested reviewers, if the journal asks for them.]Thank you for considering our work.Sincerely,[Corresponding author], on behalf of all authors[Affiliation and email]
Open the outline in the workspace

See it done well

A finished example

Read a complete one, written from a brief like yours, with notes on why each part works.