Check guidelines for authors

Thank you very much Umar Suleiman Abubakar for this very topical but simple question. There is a need to clarify to you the issue of a cover letter for whatever purpose.

To simplify this issue for you and some of our sisters or brothers in the academia, a cover a letter is any normal letter that you in a formal correspondence. In this case, a cover letter is meant to have your article attached to it. So it covers the article. It is a level of personal or institutional commitment to the partnership.

This implies that a cover letter contains an attachment because it explains or confirms your commitment to allow the editors or the publishers to legally process your article or manuscript. It is sent as an attachment to the email.

For example, you will write a normal letter with the following parts:

1. If you use a letterhead, it contains the logo and full contact address of your institution or personal address (name, emails, telephones, fax, box number, website, among others).The whole contact information is on top of the lletter.

2. Date is indicated below the letterhead.

3. If you do not use a letterhead, your full contact information will appear on the top right side of the letter or the paper.In this case, the address of the editor will appear on the left hand side of the letter, just below your address which is indicated on the right hand side.

4. Below the address of the editor, you open the letter with a salutation or greeting: Dear Editor. Below it, is the subject. For example, Submission of an article for your publication.

5.Below this is the opening paragraph of your letter informing the editor that as per the above subject, you are submitting the attached to be reviewed for a publication. You may state the title of the article in the letter. Make it brief. I t can be two to three lines only.

6.Conclude the letter with traditional words like, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,

7. This is followed by your name and signature above the name after leaving about two spaces. And below your signature, indicate your title or status as the author.

I have not seen a sample of their cover page but they normally show it to the authors as part of the guidelines to the contributors. The normal title page shows the topic on top of the paper, followed by the name of the author/co-authors, email and telephone contacts, name of the affiliated institutions, and perhaps the date, moth, year of submission as well as the city or country of submission.

Best regards

Wilson