b'TiPPS Cover Letter Samples\n(used by permission)\nTASK: Look at the following job advertisement and then read the 3 sample cover letters. If you\nwere an employer, which applicant(s) would you consider calling in for an interview? What do\nyou think are the strengths and weaknesses of each cover letter? (None of them is perfect, but\nidentifying what\xe2\x80\x99s good and bad in each will help you identify the same in your cover letter).\nFor help, read \xe2\x80\x9cTiPPS for Writing and Tailoring Cover Letters.\xe2\x80\x9d\nJOB AD:\nUH EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST III\nclass code: 92207, pay range P09\nSecond Language Teaching & Curriculum Center/National Foreign Language Resource Center, College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, Office of the Dean, full-time, federal funds, to begin approximately 9/15/99;\nannually renewable pending availability of funds and satisfactory performance.\n\nDuties: Coordinate educational programs and professional development activities; develop\nand publicize programs, coordinate application and selection procedures and arrange support\nservices for programs; facilitate projects in materials development, teacher training and research; supervise office personnel, manage databases.\nMinimum Qualifications: MA degree in ESL, applied linguistics, foreign language education, or a related field; three years of progressively responsible work experience in second/\nforeign language education; experience in organization and management of educational programs; excellent communication and organizational skills; strong word-processing (Macintosh)\nand database (Filemaker Pro) skills; Internet experience (email account/alias management,\nWWW publishing).\nDesirable Qualifications: high proficiency in at least one foreign language; language teaching experience; experience in developing foreign language teaching materials; experience in\ngrant management and report writing.\nMinimum Starting Monthly Salary: $3277.00.\nInquiries: David Hiple, 956\xe2\x80\x932062.\nSubmit:\n1)\nAPT Application for Employment (UH form 64) (attached),\n2)\nresume,\n3)\na statement outlining how you meet the minimum and desirable qualifications, and\n4)\nthree letters of recommendation attesting to job performance and personal character\n\xc2\xa9 2002 by the Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center (TiPPS)\n1\n\n\x0cSAMPLE A:\n\nAugust 26, 1999\nPersonnel\nSLTCC/NFLRC Ed. Specialist III\n2545 McCarthy Mall, Bilger 101\nUniversity of Hawai\xe2\x80\x98i\nHonolulu, HI 96822\nTo Whom It May Concern:\nEnclosed please find my resume. Upon reviewing my resume, I\'m sure you will find that I am qualified\nfor a number of positions related to language teaching. I have had over five years of teaching experience\nhere in Korea, teaching students of various ages and ability. In addition, two years ago I was promoted\nto English Teacher Coordinator at the English conversation school where I had been teaching, which\nillustrates how effective I was as a teacher. Finally, I self-published a textbook as well as a study on the\ninfluence of the American military in towns with Korean military bases (copies available upon request).\nI hope you will consider me for any positions you may have. Please contact me at the above address for\na possible interview. I am eager to work with you in Hawai\xe2\x80\x98i. Thank you for your consideration.\nSincerely,\n\nXXXXX\n\n\xc2\xa9 2002 by the Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center (TiPPS)\n\n2\n\n\x0cSAMPLE B:\nAugust 26, 1999\nDr. David Hiple\nSLTCC/NFLRC Ed. Specialist III\n2545 McCarthy Mall, Bilger 101\nUniversity of Hawai\xe2\x80\x98i\nHonolulu, HI 96822\nDear Dr. Hiple:\nI am applying for the Educational Specialist position at the SLTCC/NFLRC, and have attached the UH\nForm 64 (APT Application for Employment), my current curriculum vita, and three letters of recommendation\nAs my CV indicates, I received my Master\'s degree in ESL from Temple University\'s Tokyo school. One\nof the unique aspects of this program is its Weekend Seminar series, which invites experts from all over\nthe world to do 14-hour seminars on an area of specialty. While at Temple, I took 9 credits of these\nseminars, from people such as Richard Schmidt, Sandra Savignon, Teresa Pica, and Paul Nation. I feel\nthat the variety of perspectives these seminars provided have helped make me a more rounded teacher\nand administrator.\nI have eight years of experience teaching English in Japan, to students aging from nine years old\nthrough senior citizens, and at levels from beginner through advanced. I have taught private lessons, at\nlanguage schools, at a vocational school, and at a university. I primarily taught conversation, but also\nhad courses in writing and reading. In all my conversation classes, I strived to lead more students\ntoward taking more responsibility for their learning, by giving them more control over the topics and by\nteaching and practicing conversation and communication strategies. In writing classes, I focused on\nmaking students aware of aspects of creative writing (and giving them opportunities to "play" with these\naspects), as well as working with them on writing essays on topics of their own choosing. Finally, in\nreading classes, I tried to use real materials (to the extent these were available) for practicing different\nskills. I also believe strongly in being a reflective practitioner, and keep a "teaching journal" on a regular\nbasis.\nIn addition, I served three years as an administrator at the vocational school where I taught. In this\nrole, I was in charge of hiring teachers, curriculum development, textbook selection, scheduling, and\nworking with teachers to ensure that they were sharing lesson plans and teaching insights.\nFinally, I am also interested in materials development. I am currently working on a writing textbook,\nwhich I hope to send to a publisher in the next few months. I would be happy to provide copies of\ntextbook units, or any other teaching materials you might find useful to help you make a decision.\nPlease let me know if there is anything you would like me to provide.\nI would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Thank you again for your consideration.\nYours truly,\n\nXXXXXXX\n\n\xc2\xa9 2002 by the Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center (TiPPS)\n\n3\n\n\x0cSAMPLE C:\nAugust 26, 1999\nPersonnel\nSLTCC/NFLRC Ed. Specialist III\n2545 McCarthy Mall, Bilger 101\nUniversity of Hawai\xe2\x80\x98i\nHonolulu, HI 96822\nDear David Hiple:\nMy name is Jim Yoshioka, and I am applying for the UH Educational Specialist III APT position\n(#92207). I feel certain that my previous educational, teaching, research, advising, administrative, and\nprofessional experiences (described in detail here and in my curriculum vitae and application), have\nwell prepared me to successfully handle the job\xe2\x80\x99s duties, responsibilities, challenges, and possibilities\nand that, if given the chance, I can be a valuable, enthusiastic, and effective asset to your center and its\nmission. I have already served the NFLRC previously as a Graduate Assistant and co-author of Tech.\nReport #18, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to work with the NFLRC once again!\nConsidering the minimum and desired qualifications for the position, I meet them in the following\nways. First of all, in terms of education, I graduated with an MA in ESL from the University of Hawai\xe2\x80\x98i\nat Manoa this past May, my scholarly paper (an interpretive qualitative study focusing on workplace\npragmatics) earning the department\xe2\x80\x99s Harry Whitten Prize for Scholarly Excellence. In addition, I also\nhold a BA in English (teaching emphasis) and a minor in Japanese from the University of California at\nDavis, these multiple perspectives on language education working together to better inform my teaching\nand curricular decision-making.\nIn terms of actual second/foreign language educational job experience, I worked for 3 years as\nan Assistant English Teacher (EFL) at 4 junior high schools in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan,\nwhere my main duties included researching, developing, and adapting communicative activities for the\nclassroom to develop the students\xe2\x80\x99 English listening and speaking abilities, teaching 3-4 classes a day,\nhelping with grading and test development as well as various school-wide events and activities, and\nholding city-wide teacher training seminars to improve the Japanese teachers\xe2\x80\x99 English ability.\nMore recently, I worked for 2 years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (ESL) for the English\nLanguage Institute (ELI) at UH Manoa, where I taught both ELI 73 (Writing for Foreign Students) and\nELI 80 (Advanced Listening & Speaking). My responsibilities encompassed the full range of curriculum\ndevelopment - conducting needs analyses in my classes; updating ELI course goals and objectives and\ndeveloping professionally in departmental meetings; choosing appropriate textbooks; administering\nand rating placement exams and reporting the results to students; developing new materials and activities\non my own and in collaboration with my colleagues; creating lesson plans and teaching my students\nwith an ear to their needs and interests, with an eye to the research and multimedia technology available\nto enhance their language learning experience, and with the spirit of building on their strengths and\nimproving their weak areas through collaborative group work and individualized feedback and attention\nfrom me; and finally, evaluation of all parts of the process. Besides these 5 years of progressively\nresponsible work in foreign/second language teaching, I have also worked previously as an ESL writing\ntutor, a Japanese tutor, and a Macintosh lab assistant/writing tutor (which again reflect my educational\nbackground).\nIt is clear, however, particularly from looking at the NFLRC job\xe2\x80\x99s duties and expectations, that\napart from having the appropriate type of background, having excellent organizational, administrative,\n\n\xc2\xa9 2002 by the Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center (TiPPS)\n\n4\n\n\x0cand communicative skills is of prime importance. I have held a number of jobs, both paid and voluntary,\nwhere I successfully brought those abilities into play. For example, as an Academic Peer Advisor for the\nDivision of Education at UC Davis, I not only met regularly with students interested in the UCD teaching\ncredential program (advising them about program prerequisites, applications, deadlines, scheduling,\nprogram options, general college requirements, etc.) but also, on my own initiative, developed a number\nof systems and resources to help the office and the advising sessions run more smoothly and effectively.\nThese included developing and writing the division\xe2\x80\x99s first newsletter for teaching credential program\nhopefuls (full of information and important reminders), maintaining the mailing list for it, keeping\nrecords of students\xe2\x80\x99 visits and concerns for future advising purposes, and revamping, compiling, and\nediting out-of-date division handouts and references for more informative, up-to-date, and effective\nadvising sessions. I received many compliments from advisees, staff, and faculty alike for my support\nservices, and after I left, they told me they had to hire two peer advisors to take my place (which they\ndid).\nMore recently, I have helped organize the Literacy for Change: Community-Based Approaches\nConference in August 1997, using Pagemaker to create its registration materials and conference booklet\nunder the direction of Dr. Kathy Davis (ESL). That very same summer, I also served as Production\nManager (and actor) for the play Katipunan: The Cry for Freedom, where my duties included publicity\nand public relations, being a liason between the director, assistant director, set designer, and costume\ndesigner, and organizing cast functions, scheduling, and so on.\nAnd finally, for the past year, I have been carrying out writing research and administrative work\nfor the Manoa Writing Program at UH Manoa including Placement Exam registration, administration,\nrating, database maintenance, and research; Writing-Intensive course designation and research; publication\nof the most recent issues of Writing Matters; website development and updating; participation in MWP\nBoard Meetings as well as system-wide Written Communication meetings; research reports; and office\nresponsibilities such as computer/server maintenance, answering faculty/student phone or in-person\nqueries, and assisting staff with routine business.\nTwo final qualifications involve competency with computers and in a foreign language. In\npractically all of the jobs mentioned throughout my application, I have used Macintosh computers\nextensively (I have one at home as well), except at the Manoa Writing Program, where we use PCs. In\nterms of programs, I have worked with the following applications: Microsoft Word, Word Perfect,\nPagemaker (word processing/publishing); SPSS, Foxpro, Excel, ISIS (database storage and analysis);\nNorton Utilities, Filemaker Pro, various anti-virus programs (file back-up and protection); Netscape,\nTelnet, Uhunix (pine, pico, aliases), HTML Writer (internet and WWW); and other miscellaneous\nprograms such as Daedalus. As for foreign language proficiency, besides receiving a minor in Japanese\n(after 4 years of study), being a Japanese tutor, and teaching and living in Japan for three years, I also\nserved as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Japanese Department at UH Manoa. For two years, I\nassisted Dr. John Haig with expanding, updating, revising, editing, and proofreading Nelson\xe2\x80\x99s JapaneseEnglish Character Dictionary for its third edition. Other graduate assistants came and went, but I was\ncontinued through the end because of my good balance of accuracy and speed.\nFor these reasons, I believe I am prepared to handle the interesting challenges and demands of\nthe job with service, a smile, and efficiency; all I ask for is the chance. I look forward to hearing from\nyou, and thank you for considering my application!\nSincerely,\n\nJim Yoshioka\n\n\xc2\xa9 2002 by the Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center (TiPPS)\n\n5'