Assignment 2 - Internship Cover Letter

📝 Complete the assignment below

Due date: Saturday, 12 August, 2023 10pm GMT

⚠️ Make sure you complete all parts of your assignment in a Google Doc

Instructions

  • Review the assignment brief below.
  • Answer the planning questions listed below.
  • Create an outline for your cover letter.
  • Write your internship cover letter.
  • Evaluate your writing using the 7Cs, and make any required changes to your cover letter. (Notes: Make sure you use the built-in spelling and grammar checker in Google Docs!)
  • Download your finished assignment as a pdf and submit on Gradescope and Woolf.

Brief

  1. Identify an internship opportunity you might want to apply for in the future.
  2. Review the job requirements and write a cover letter to apply for the position.

Tip: To find internship job postings try googling "[Company Name] undergraduate internship application".

📺 Watch the following video on writing personal statements and cover letters

📖 Read the following section to learn about how to structure your cover letter

Planning Questions

  1. Determine your purpose: What is your purpose for writing? What do you want to accomplish?
  2. Analyse your audience: Who will read your writing, and what implication does this have on achieving your purpose? How do you need to adapt your writing to your audience?
  3. Gather your information: What information and evidence do you need to include in your writing to achieve your purpose?
  4. Organise your message: How should you organise your message's content to achieve your purpose?

Submission

  • Your submission should include:
    • Your answers to the planning questions
    • Your outline
    • Your assessment of your cover letter using the 7Cs.
    • The final version of your cover letter

Submit your assignment on Gradescope and then upload a copy to the Week 4 submission area on the Woolf platform.

Additional Tips

  • Complete the lessons before doing the assignment!

  • Read the assignment instructions carefully and make sure your response address all the requirements. Only half of the marks in this assignment are based on the final version of the cover letter, so ensure you submit all required components of the assignment.

  • Answer the planning questions thoroughly

  • Create a proper outline

  • Evaluate your writing with the 7Cs - use the guiding questions provided in the lesson.

  • Identify coherence by using reverse outlining

  • Use the spelling and grammar checker!

  • Some common errors that we noticed in previous cohorts

  • Wrong tone - too formal

  • Wrong tone - too casual

  • Not enough detail or examples - really vague description of skills and experiences

  • Not tailored to the company

  • Too generic

  • Too long (Should not be longer than 1 page)

  • Lack of coherence (between sentences and between paragraphs)

  • Long sentences that combine different thoughts

  • Typos, omitted words, spelling, grammar, and formatting errors

  • No closing

  • Overly sincere closing (e.g. “It is my honour to be considered…”)