Cover Letter Series, Part 2.: Research and Contribution Sections

Cover Letter Series, Part 2.: Research and Contribution Sections

Let's go on to the next paragraphs, the present research and contribution, now that we've discussed the cover letter's introduction paragraphgraph. This will be about your current endeavor, which in most cases is the dissertation, in a research-oriented Cover Letter. It's what you've been thinking about for the past several years, and it's what you've sacrificed your social life, leisure time, and money for. Whether you like it or not, this piece of text contains a significant portion of your identity. As a result, things get a little tangled.

We frequently read dissertation paragraphs that are far, far, far too lengthy, when all we need are two paragraphs: content and contribution. Candidates are frequently advised by their counsel to go extremely thorough in order to highlight how unique their concept is. Even if it is unique, search committees only have around 30 seconds to spend to it (out of about 1.5 minutes devoted to the letter as a whole). Search committees must be able to immediately understand the scope of your proposal and determine whether it is feasible. So keep it brief, sweet, and to the point.

Avoid Jargon. Jargon should be avoided at all costs. I don't care how much you have to use it to appear respectable in your closed-off and obnoxious graduate program. It's not something you want to include in a letter. To begin with, academics outside of 2-3 insular and outrageously arrogant graduate institutions despise the language produced by those 2-3 programs. Second, practically every selection committee has an external member, who, depending on their position within the university hierarchy, may be rather strong. You require this individual's assistance. If they don't grasp what you're about, how can they be your champion? At JTTT we frequently advise customers to picture discussing their topic to a group of enthusiastic upper-division undergraduates. You must make your project understandable to everyone. If you believe that level is too low, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the job hunt conditions limited time and energy. Please pay attention to this caution if you are a student of Comparative Literature, English, Ethnic Studies, or Women's & Gender Studies.

Claim agency. "My project tracks X," "My dissertation traces Y," and "My book highlights the necessity to accomplish Z" are examples of weak verbs. The verbs are not only ambiguous, but they also conceal your researcher identity. We discuss a lot about different methods to reclaim agency on productivity Tuesdays. This is one of them! Use research action verbs like "analyze," "compare," "describe," and "conclude" when talking about your study. If you stick to your guns, you won't have to resort to grandiosity in the next paragraph.

I've already written on the distinction between content and contribution:

You discuss the topic of your dissertation in the first dissertation paragraph graph–the major argument, methods, and findings. You discuss the contribution your unique argument/findings/approach brings to the wider area you're working in in the second paragraph graph–what it illuminates, what debates it intervenes in. You must take a step back, move away from the issue at hand, and instead apply a broader lens to the development of arguments in the field as a whole.

It’s essentially the question of how you fit into the academic landscape of your field. Now, because we’re academics, this often means that job candidates veer into one of two extremes: Grandiosity or impostor syndrome. If you’re telling me that the entire school of formal logics has made the same mistake, but that you, the hero of these pages, all alone,  have solved it, forgive me if I am skeptical. Likewise, if you spend the contribution paragraph going on and on about what others didn’t do, or how everybody but you is a blithering idiot, you won’t make any friends. Of course, the other extreme is impostor syndrome, the candidate thinking that they’re not worthy and it’s only a matter of time until they are found out.  It's fundamentally an issue of how you fit within your field's academic environment. Because we're academics, this frequently leads to one of two extremes: grandiosity or impostor syndrome among job applications. If you're telling me that the entire school of formal logics committed the same error, but that you, the hero of these pages, have fixed it all by yourself, please pardon me if I'm unconvinced. You won't win any friends if you spend the whole paragraph whining about what others didn't do or how everyone but you is a blithering moron. Impostor syndrome, on the other hand, is when a candidate believes they are found unworthy and it is only a matter of time before they are.

I'm frequently asked why we should explain how we fit into our profession to folks in our field. They can't tell, can they? Actually, it doesn't make a difference. They need to hear YOU discuss it so they can be confident that you'll be able to secure financing for the project and show a classroom of undergraduates why it's important. The financial component is particularly crucial: If you demonstrate to a search committee that you can effectively convey your work and its significance, they will be more confidence in your ability to obtain grants and financing in the future. Why should we be concerned?

Writing a great research discussion or dissertation paragraph becomes easier. Your cover letter is not you. His counsel is consistent with what I say early in the book, long before we get into the nuts and bolts. In Chapter 13, I discuss the importance of developing a professional character. You may want to go on and on about your research, but your "professional persona" will remember to keep the summary to five sentences, because your persona understands that the job search is all about getting actionable information to the search committee as quickly as possible, given the search committee's real-life time and energy constraints. You may want to shout that you are the only one who can save the world (and you may, if you've discovered the HIV vaccine), but instead, your professional persona will calmly demonstrate the importance of your work with evidence and substance, rather than hysterical posturing, bragging, and grandiosity.

In the long term, building a persona like this will spare you a lot of heartache because otherwise you'll learn to interpret everything that happens as a critique of your persona and your work, rather than you as an individual. It will assist you in writing two excellent research and contribution paragraphs in the near term.

Similar Posts:

1. Cover Letter Series pt.3: The Teaching-Centric Letter
2. Cover Letter Series pt.4: The Worst Job Application Letter Ever Written
3. 12 Sentences That Should Be Included in Your Academic Cover Letter