Writing an effective cover letter
2) Manuscript title and authors
Bolding your manuscript and listing the authors are essential parts of the cover letter.
Example:
We are submitting our original article entitled “Endoscopic and medical management of acute food impaction: A double-blinded randomized control trial” by Naik R and Inadomi J.
3) Methods
We recommend dedicating one sentence to your methods. Take this time to highlight key features if appropriate, such as novel techniques, prospective enrollment, and randomized, controlled studies, which are all generally viewed as stronger study designs than retrospective studies. Make sure you are truthful in your claims. Mistakes we have seen include making claims the group is the “first” or the “largest,” but our review of the literature disproves these statements. These are false claims and raise flags regarding the integrity of the science.
In this pragmatic, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, our primary aim was to calculate the efficacy of endoscopic dilation and oral steroids to reduce recurrent dysphagia in individuals aged 20-49 years with eosinophilic esophagitis admitted with acute food impaction.
4) Results and key findings
We recommend dedicating a sentence to the key finding of this study. This allows the editors in chief to identify which associate editor should handle the manuscript and highlights the importance of the study, which will determine whether the associate editor will send your paper for external review.
Example:
We found that combined endoscopic dilation and oral steroid therapy at index food impaction improved quality of life and need for repeat dilation measured at 1-year follow-up, compared with sham dilation and placebo.
