Cover Letter/Personal Statement — Revised Draft

Description: This assignment provides you with the opportunity to refine how you write about your professional identity. You have two options for this assignment: (1) cover letter, or (2) graduate school statement.

Option 1. Draft a cover letter applying for a job. This should be a job that you: (1) see yourself in and (2) have some connection to due to your field study or future professional aspirations. On a separate page, include: (1) a brief job description (summarize what you find on a career site or elsewhere); (2) a professional email (taking into account guest lecturer Karma Rose’s tips) to the person who will be reviewing your application.

Option 2. Draft a personal statement for a graduate school program. Be sure to include the prompt from the application.

Formatting: Your assignment should be between 600-750 words. For option one, the cover letter will be approximately 300 words, which leaves approximately 300-450 words for the description and email. Graduate school statements will reach the word limit. In fact, many schools allow for statements longer than this, but you will limit the word count for the first draft.1

Policies: Reviewers are not expected to assign points to their peers’ assignments but should consult the attached rubric in order to provide meaningful feedback. Reviewers should provide suggestions for both grammatical/stylistic improvements, as well as substantive feedback.

Due Dates

• First draft uploaded to Canvas by 9pm on 8/13

• Feedback from peer reviewer completed on Canvas by 9pm on 8/16

• Revised draft uploaded to Canvas by 9pm on 8/18