Sample cover letter for Full Time position at Sanford

I am writing to apply for the position of assistant professor of English announced inthe October 5 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Myexperience inthe teaching of both composition and literature, my academic preparation in literacy issues, theory, and instruction, and my research experience inthe areas of comprehension of literature and writing inthe disciplines have provided me with the background necessaryto successfully assume the position that you have described. Though trained as a researcher, I define myself primarily as a teacher and am eager toreturn to the classroom. I am prepared to teach writing at many levels. At SanFrancisco State University, I taught composition and writing about literature(essentially a class inthe short story)to both regular and remedial populations; atStanfordI have taughtthesis anddissertationwriting to masters and doctoralstudents. My courses havegenerally combined extensive writingexperiencewith the workonskills necessary to that particular class and with group time spent onexercises, inductive assignments, and peer editing. I amenclosing representative evaluations of my teaching from composition classes at San Francisco State. My scholastic training is broad and encompasses a number of the various areas that fall under the heading of English. My masters work focused on creative writing with specialstudy of Flaubert, Faulkner, and T.S. Eliotand alsoincluded courses in the teaching of composition and composition theory. This combination of interests in composition and literature led meto doctoral work at Stanford inthe unique Language, Literacy, and Culture program. This programallows a focus on the acquisition and uses of literacy skills andon the roles thatmotivation,situation, and culture playin literacy development. I focused on composition and reading theory, the acquisition and development of higher-levelliteracy skills, and reading and writing aboutliterature. A growing interestinthe ways that readers understand literaryworks led to my dissertation research, a descriptive studyin which I investigated the processes through which eightcollege freshmen and eightmasters students in literature read and interpreted two short stories and two poems. By using methods of analysis that created a bridge between cognitive psychology and literarytheory, I was able to paint a richand detailedportrait ofthe ways in whichthese readers interacted withthe two genres. Although my dissertation focused on the reading of literature, I amequally interested ininvestigating the ways inwhich students write about literature and intend to pursue thatinmy next project. I would liketocarry out intensive case studies of students ina literature class, following them fromtheir firstencounters witha literary text through the essays theyultimately produce, with the intention oftracking their understanding of the work. Since my research interests lie generallyinthe area ofhigher-level literacy skills and in reading-writing connections, over the long termI hope to use the study of literature as a framework to investigate students’ abilities to analyze, tosynthesize, and to read and write critically. I would bring tothis position both preparation and experience, not onlyin writing but also in reading, not only inliteracy skills but also inliterature, not onlyinmy own skills as a writer or interpreter ofliterature but alsointhe teaching ofthose subjects. Having begun my teachingcareer in the California State Universitysystem, I am most interested in workinginastate university environment, for I enjoythe mix of student backgrounds and varying levels of experience and ability that are found there. I have enclosed a copy of my curriculum vitae, the abstract of my dissertation, and several teaching evaluations; the Career Center at Stanford will sendmyletters of reference. I look forward to hearing fromyou.