cover letter for law review submission

Scholarly Publishing Resources

• Introduction
• Where to Submit
• Formatting Your Submission
• How to Submit
• When to Submit
• Author's Agreements
• Tracking and Expediting Submissions
• Non-Law Journal Submission
• Book Proposals

Cover Letters

• Sample Law Review Cover Letters In this blog post from Concurring Opinions , Lawrence Cunningham provides multiple examples of cover letters to accompany law review submissions.
• Pimps, Prostitutes, and Placements: Drafting the Cover Letter to Law Journals
• Writing an Abstract for a Law Review Article
• Lee Petherbridge & Christopher Anthony Cotropia, Should Your Law Review Article Have an Abstract and Table of Contents? The authors studied the impact of articles in top 100 law reviews and found that the presence of abstracts and tables of contents correlated with increased impact.
• Writing an Effective Abstract: An Audience-Based Approach The authors, editors at two non-law journals, discuss the elements of an effective abstract and provide examples of effective and ineffective abstracts.

Submission Template

• Eugene Volokh's Law Review Template
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• Last Updated: Sep 7, 2021 2:43 PM
• URL: https://libguides.law.gsu.edu/scholarlypublishing

Vanderbilt Law Review

Submissions.

The Vanderbilt Law Review publishes six times a year (January, March, April, May, October, and November). We have two selection cycles (spring and fall) per year. During a selection cycle, we accept submissions on a rolling basis. We do not accept submissions solely authored by law school students.

Please follow the link immediately below to visit our Scholastica page . The Scholastica page contains the most up to date information about submission windows.

How to Submit

All submissions should include the manuscript (with an abstract), a cover letter, and your CV or resume. We prefer that you submit the manuscript in Microsoft Word format; the cover letter and CV/resume may be submitted as a Word, PDF, or similar file.

We strongly prefer electronic submission through Scholastica. If an email submission is necessary, please send submission materials to [email protected] . If a hard copy submission is absolutely necessary (i.e., neither Scholastica or email is available), please mail your materials to:

Senior Articles Editor Vanderbilt Law Review 131 21st Avenue South Nashville, TN 37203.

Length of Submission

We accept both articles and essays for publication. For articles, we strongly prefer submissions 20,000–35,000 words, including text and footnotes (40–70 journal pages). Essays are typically under 20,000 words, including text and footnotes. For submissions that exceed these guidelines, length will be a factor that may weigh against extending an offer to publish.

In all but the most exceptional circumstances, we publish book reviews and article responses in our online companion, Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc . Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc considers essays, article responses, and book reviews throughout the year. Please see the En Banc page for more details.

Formatting of Submission

We prefer submissions in the format of a Microsoft Word document. Please use footnotes rather than endnotes. All footnotes should conform to the current edition of The Bluebook.

The Vanderbilt Law Review edits pieces for compliance with the following sources: the Chicago Manual of Style (grammar and style), the Bluebook (citations), Webster’s Third Unabridged Dictionary (hyphenation and spelling), and the Vanderbilt Law Review Style Guide (available upon request).

Theoretical and Empirical Submission Guidelines

The Vanderbilt Law Review values theoretical and empirical contributions to the legal literature. We also value transparency and reproducibility in these articles. For articles that have mathematical proofs, please include these proofs in an appendix to the article. For empirical articles, any procedures, methodology, or robustness checks not included in the body of the article must be included in an appendix to the article. Please have the dataset ready to be sent upon request.

Expedited Review

Upon receiving an offer of publication from another law review, you may request an expedited review of your article. If you have submitted your article via Scholastica, we strongly prefer that you request expedited review through Scholastica. If you have submitted your article via email or mail, you may request expedited review by sending an email to [email protected] . The email must include the author’s name, the title of the submission, the law review that has made the offer, and the deadline (date and time) that the offeror has given for the reply. Please do not send an email if you have already submitted the expedite via Scholastica.

Please note that we will try our best to finish our review before the expedite deadline. However, we are not always able to do so.

Please let us know if you have decided to withdraw your piece from submission. If you have submitted your article via Scholastica, we strongly prefer that you withdraw the submission through Scholastica. If you have submitted your article via email or mail, you may withdraw the piece by sending an email to [email protected] . The email must include the author’s name and the title of the submission.

Conflicts of Interest

All conflicts of interest must be disclosed in the author’s biographical footnote. This includes any personal or professional financial interests (including research grants) that may be relevant to the subject of the piece. Also, authors must disclose involvement in any litigation relevant to the submission or any non-trivial involvement with for- or not-for-profit associations with a material interest in the article.

Additional Information

Please address any additional questions to the Senior Articles Editor at  [email protected] .

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Cover letters

A good cover letter can help to “sell” your manuscript to the journal editor. As well as introducing your work to the editor you can also take this opportunity to explain why the manuscript will be of interest to a journal's readers, something which is always as the forefront editors’ mind. As such it is worth spending time writing a coherent and persuasive cover letter.

The following is an example of a poor cover letter:

Dear Editor-in-Chief, I am sending you our manuscript entitled “Large Scale Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulators in bladder cancer” by Researcher et al. We would like to have the manuscript considered for publication in Pathobiology. Please let me know of your decision at your earliest convenience. With my best regards, Sincerely yours, A Researcher, PhD

Instead, check to see whether the journal’s Instructions for Authors have any cover letter requirements (e.g. disclosures, statements, potential reviewers). Then, write a letter that explains why the editor would want to publish your manuscript. The following structure covers all the necessary points that need to be included.

• If known, address the editor who will be assessing your manuscript by their name. Include the date of submission and the journal you are submitting to.
• First paragraph: include the title of your manuscript and the type of manuscript it is (e.g. review, research, case study). Then briefly explain the background to your study, the question you sought out to answer and why.
• Second paragraph: you should concisely explain what was done, the main findings and why they are significant.
• Third paragraph: here you should indicate why the readers of the journal would be interested in the work. Take your cues from the journal’s aims and scope. For example if the journal requires that all work published has broad implications explain how your study fulfils this. It is also a good idea to include a sentence on the importance of the results to the field.
• To conclude state the corresponding author and any journal specific requirements that need to be complied with (e.g. ethical standards).

TIP: All cover letters should contain these sentences:

• We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal.
• All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to [insert the name of the target journal].

Submission checklist

Before submitting your manuscript, thoroughly check its quality one more time. Evaluate it critically—could anything be done better?

Be sure that:

• The manuscript follows the Instructions for Authors
• All files are in the correct file format and of the appropriate resolution or size
• The spelling and grammar are correct
• You have contact information for all authors
• You have written a persuasive cover letter

Back │ Next

Law Review Author Guide

Submitting, juggling expedite requests, and tracking decisions on your article across law reviews can be a lot to manage. When you use Scholastica to submit to law reviews every step of the process is organized in one, easy to manage place. Read on to learn how to expertly navigate and best utilize Scholastica!

Why submit on Scholastica?

• You can manage your submissions to over 80% of all top general law reviews on Scholastica, making it easier to keep track of publication offers and send expedites.
• Our Customer Success team conducts personalized trainings to equip new boards with the skills they need to review every submission promptly and provide respectful feedback.
• Law reviews that use Scholastica are encouraged during trainings and outreach to follow their own best practices which benefits authors, including making decisions on all manuscripts .
• You'll receive speedy customer support assistance from a real human.

Below are the most common actions that you can take as an author in your account. Click on a topic below to jump to the section.

Sign up and create an account

Steps to create your account:.

• Note: If you already have a Scholastica account, you don't need to create a new one! You can simply log in, instead. If you cannot remember your password, click "Forgot Password".
• Fill out the entire form and click "signup" at the bottom when you're done
• Check the inbox of the email address you used to sign up for the the confirmation email
• Click the link in the email to confirm your account
• Congratulations! You can now sign into your new Scholastica account

After signing in, you'll be taken to your Dashboard where you can submit a manuscript, create a journal account, and see the latest posts from the Scholastica community.

Related Articles:

• I can't find the confirmation email?
• Trouble logging in

Fees and Pricing

In Scholastica, author accounts are free to create and there are no annual fees associated with your account. There is a fee associated with each submission that you make to a law journal.

Our article submission pricing model is a $6.60 per submission fee for each law journal that you submit to. For example, if you choose to submit your manuscript to 10 law journals you would pay ($6.60 x 10) $66.00.

Institutional sponsorship

• Sponsorship allows your institution (e.g. university, department, company) to automatically cover your submission fees.
• Check if you are sponsored by your institution by clicking My Account.

Choose who should pay

Some law schools have agreements or submission caps when it comes to submitting to law reviews through Scholastica. If that's the case for you, then if you reach your submission limit and you find that you want to make additional submissions, you can use the same account and pay the submissions fees out of pocket.

You can choose to pay for the submission fees out of pocket under the Payment Details section at the end of the submission form. 

How to Submit on Scholastica

Have you fine-tuned your files? Revised your resume? Then you're ready to submit! Submitting your manuscript to law reviews on Scholastica is a quick and efficient process.

• From your Dashboard, click Submit a manuscript
• Click Go to submission pool on the browse journals page. 
• Enter the Title of your article the click Save and continue (Don't worry – you'll be able to review your full submission form and make any edits prior to completing your submission).
• You can filter the law journals by using the dropdown menus next to your "cart"

• Can't find the journal you're looking for? Please note that the majority of law journals choose to participate in the submission pool, but there are some journals that do not participate. If you cannot find a journal in the submission pool, you'll use the steps here to find the journal.  
• There is no limit to the number of files you submit, though you must at a minimum submit your manuscript file and your CV. If you have selected a journal that asks for anonymized manuscripts , you will also be asked to attach an anonymized version of your manuscript file.
• The order in which the keywords and author information are entered is not saved.
• If you are asked to enter billing information at the bottom, that means that you are not sponsored by your institution. If you feel that you should be, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we can check to see if your school has an account.
• Double and triple check all of your files before submitting —  submissions are final and you won't be able to swap files out later (though you can send updated files to the editors via Discussions )
• Depending on the size of your file and the number of law reviews to which you're submitting, your submission may take up to 10 minutes to process.

Note: Once you've submitted your manuscript, you cannot further edit the submission, as noted in the affirmation on the final step of the submission process pictured below:

If there are updates or edits you'd like to communicate to the journal editors after  you've completed your submission, please use Discussions to do so.

Draft Submissions

Saving your progress.

When submitting your manuscript, your submission will automatically save a few seconds after you've made a change (like adding another journal to your cart or editing your abstract). The auto-save function ensures you don't lose work if you begin submitting, but need to step away or relocate to a different computer before completing your submission.

Resuming your draft

If you have started a submission that you need to resume at a later time, you can find your saved draft by logging into your account and navigating to My Manuscripts. To resume your draft and complete your submission, just click Resume submission on the draft. If you no longer wish to complete that submission, you can remove the draft by clicking the Draft group submission dropdown and selecting Delete draft .

Submit the same manuscript to more law reviews

You've just completed your submission and, a few hours later, check the #LRSubmissions hashtag on Twitter only to find that one of the law reviews you'd most like to publish with just opened for submissions! Save yourself the time of reentering your submission details and instead simply submit your manuscript to more law reviews.

To submit to more:

• Go to My Manuscripts then click +Send to more journals
• You'll be taken to the submission pool where you can select the additional law reviews you'd like to submit to. Add the additional law reviews to your cart.
• You will not be able to make any edits to the submission form, you can only select the additional law journals to whom you would like to send the exact same submission.
• The only instance in which you're asked to make edits to your previous submission is if you are using the 'submit to more' function and your previous submission was only to law journals that require anonymized manuscripts or only to law journals that did not require anonymization. In either of those cases, you'll be asked to prompted to upload the necessary file type.
• Complete the submission.

Note: If you're using the 'submit to more' function, you won't be able to select law reviews to which you've already submitted — saving you an accidental double submission.

Please note: If you need to change any details about your submission at all, you'll need to create a new submission. The 'submit to more' function doesn't allow for any editing of the content of the submission.

How to find a Receipt

• Receipts for submission fees (if you are not sponsored by your institution) will be automatically sent to your email
• To check them from your Dashboard, click My Manuscripts
• Find the manuscript for which you'd like to see the receipt and click Manage Submission
• In the Author Work Area, click View Receipt

For additional information about finding a receipt see Where can I find the receipt for my submission fee?

Communicating with a journal

• Messaging a journal
• Expedite Requests
• Withdrawing

1. Messaging a journal 

Before you've submitted.

• Journals can be contacted via the email on their profile pages.
• You can search or browse journals on the browse page.
• Click Contact by email on the journal's profile page; an email message to the journal’s primary contact will be opened.

After you've submitted

Discussions.

After you've submitted your manuscript, you can start a discussion with the journal about it in the Author Work Area for the manuscript. Read How do discussions work? to learn how.

Discussions are the general communication system within Scholastica. They should be used for messages like:

• "I forgot to send my cover letter! I have attached it to this Discussion message."
• "I was recently asked to present on the topic of my paper and received acclaim from many professors including...etc."
• "Can you please tell me how long your review process takes on average?"

2. Expedite Requests

Expedite requests are sent by law authors manually and do not require validation in the system. Expedite requests are used to notify a law review that you have another offer and as such need to hear back from them with a decision within your given timeframe.

To learn more about how to submit an expedite request to one or more journals see How do I manage my group submission to law reviews?

Here's how expedite requests appear to the editors on the manuscript table:

At minimum, an expedite request includes where the most important publication offer is from and the date and time by which you need a decision. You can also add any additional comments or offers for the editors.

3. Withdrawing

If you no longer want your submission to be considered by a law review for any reason - you received an offer from a different law review that you've accepted, you changed your mind about publishing with a law review, or you made such significant changes to your submission that you no longer want law reviews to consider the old version - you'll want to withdraw your submission from consideration.

Withdrawal is permanent and tells the law reviews that that submission is now off the table. If you'd like to clarify why you're withdrawing, you can do so via Discussions.

To withdraw an individual submission :

• From your Dashboard, click My Manuscripts .
• Find the manuscript and click Manage Submission .
• Find the journal that you would like to withdraw your submission from.
• NOTE : Withdrawal is permanent and indicates to the journal in-question that you no longer wish for them to consider that article for publication. Scholastica does not issue refunds for submissions that are withdrawn

4. Perform actions on your submission at multiple law reviews

To take the same action at multiple law reviews at once:

• Check the box next to each journal at which you want to take action.
• Select 'Start a Discussion', 'Send expedite request', or 'Withdraw' from the 'Bulk Actions' dropdown, then click 'Go'.
• Take any additional steps needed (if Discussion — enter subject line and message, if Expedite Request — enter offer information and date)

What are publication offers?

Law reviews operate differently from standard peer-reviewed journals. Because law authors are not submitting under the assumption that they are only considering publication with one law review, they are given offers of publication rather than a decision of accept (and all the terms and conditions that automatically come with it).

What do publications offers look like?

Publication offers can be viewed in two places: My Manuscripts and the Submission Details page. You can filter to view just the submissions that have received publication offers on both pages.

Who can see publication offers?

Only you, the author, and the law review who extended the offer can see the publication offer.

If you submitted to Law Review A and Law Review B, then Law Review A extended a publication offer, Law Review B is not notified in any way of that information and has no way to know unless you choose to share it with them.

How do I respond to them?

To respond to a pending publication offer, you'll simply:

• Click the Accept/Decline offer button to be taken to the Publication Decision page
• You'll then choose to either Accept publication offer or Decline (with optional comments)'

Decision notifications

Aside from logging into Scholastica and checking My Manuscripts you may also be notified of any decisions via email.

Editors can, however, choose to toggle off email notifications of decisions, so it is worth logging in and checking your Scholastica account periodically to see if there are any decisions that weren't sent with an accompanying email notification.

Here is an example email notification:

Consider withdrawing after you accept an offer

To both save yourself confusion later and be courteous to law reviews who may still be spending time reading your manuscript, you'll want to make sure that you withdraw your manuscript from consideration once you have accepted a publication offer from a law review.

Withdrawing from all the other remaining law reviews ensures that your submission is clearly off the market and should no longer be considered by any other publication.

Tips for the most successful submission season possible

Be sure to visit our blog to access helpful resources specifically for authors submitting to law journals - Law Review Blog

Best practices for your submission (as overheard from law review editors)

• Read law reviews' submission guidelines before submitting
• Ensure that your abstract is skim-able and as easy to digest as possible
• Include citations, especially when making or quoting legal assertions
• For more submission tips from law review editors, click here

When should I submit?

While we don't have the perfect answer to that question, we have pulled submission data from 2013-2014 in order to share some insights about the submission season cycle and highlight any trends we could find.

Click here for Law Review Article Submissions Insights: A data-driven look into the yearly legal scholarship cycle

Do your research on the law review before submitting

Almost all law reviews will have their author guidelines listed online and will appreciate you (and your article) a lot more if they don't have to do a lot of work to reformat your piece to meet their criteria.

This also goes for law review topic -- mass submission to 200+ law reviews may increase your odds of getting an offer, but it doesn't necessarily increase your odds of getting an offer that you'd actually like to take. Quickly skim the journal's information and past content to see if you feel that your piece would be a valuable contribution for the readers of that law review.

Communication is key

Submission season can be an incredibly busy and stressful time on top of the already busy lives of law professors and students — we'd like to be of help in any way we can.

If you have any questions about Scholastica or suggestions for improvement we'd love to hear from you! Please reach out to us at [email protected] .

Case Western Reserve Law Review

Home > Student Journals > LawReview

• Submissions

Case Western Reserve Law Review encourages submissions of articles, essays, and recent developments on legal topics. Case Western Reserve Law Review accepts electronic and typewritten manuscripts. Please enclose a cover letter that indicates the name of your manuscript, its nature, and provides all of your relevant contact information. The text and footnotes of each manuscript should conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed., 2015). Case Western Reserve Law Review will make every effort to timely notify authors of acceptance or refusal. All submissions become property of Case Western Reserve Law Review and cannot be returned.

Please send all typewritten submissions to: Case Western Reserve Law Review CWRU School of Law 11075 East Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7148 Telephone: (216) 368-3312 Fax: (216) 368-3310

The Law Review accepts student Note submissions from the Law Review staff and from students of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law for publication consideration. Our journal policy prohibits the publication of articles by students currently enrolled at other law schools.

• Your name and complete contact information.
• The title of your submission.
• All publications that have extended an offer to your submission.
• Dates that the offers from other publications expire.
• Whether you sent your submission to us electronically or by mail

The selection process for each article begins the day a manuscript is received by the Law Review Executive Board. The Executive Articles Editor will read the manuscript and will discuss the article topic with the Editor-in-Chief. If the Editor-in-Chief and the Executive Articles Editor approve the article, they will extend an offer for publication to the author. From the date the offer is extended, the author typically has one week to accept or decline the offer.

If you have any questions about the submission of a manuscript, please feel free to email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @CaseWResLRev.

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How to Write a Cover Letter for Journal Submission

If you’re looking for solid advice on how to write a strong journal submission cover letter that will convince journal editors to review your research paper, then look no further! We know that cover letters  can  impact an editor’s decision to consider your research paper further.

This guide aims to explain (1) why you should care about writing a powerful cover letter, (2) what you should include in it, and (3) how you should structure it. The last segment will include a free downloadable submission cover letter template with detailed how-to explanations and some useful phrases. Finally, be sure to get journal manuscript editing , cover letter editing , and other academic editing services by Wordvice’s professional editors to ensure that you convey an academic style and error-free text, along with including all of the most important content.

Why does a good cover letter matter?

While your research paper’s role is to prove the merits of your research, a strong introductory cover letter is your opportunity to highlight the significance of your research and “sell” its concept to journal editors.

While your research paper’s role is to prove the merits of your research, a strong introductory cover letter is your opportunity to highlight the significance of your research and “sell” its concept to journal editors.

Sadly, we must admit that part of the decision-making process of whether to accept a manuscript is based on a business model. Editors must select articles that will interest their readers. In other words, your paper, if published, must make money . When it’s not quite clear how your research paper might generate interest based on its title and content alone (for example, if your paper is too technical for most editors to appreciate), your cover letter is the one opportunity you will get to convince the editors that your work is worth further review.

In addition to economic factors, many editors use the cover letter to screen whether authors can follow basic instructions . For example, if a journal’s guide for authors states that you must include disclosures, potential reviewers, and statements regarding ethical practices, failure to include these items might lead to the automatic rejection of your article, even if your research is the most progressive project on the planet! By failing to follow directions, you raise a red flag that you may be careless, and if you’re not attentive to the details of a cover letter, editors might wonder about the quality and thoroughness of your research. This is not the impression you want to give editors!

What to Include in a Cover Letter for a Journal Submission

We can’t stress this enough: Follow your target journal’s instructions for authors ! No matter what other advice you read in the vast webosphere, make sure you prioritize the information requested by the editors of the journal you are submitting to. As we explained above, failure to include required statements will lead to an automatic “ desk rejection ”.

With that said, below is a list of the most common elements you must include in your cover letter and what information you should NOT include:

Essential information:

• Editor’s name (when known)
• Name of the journal to which you are submitting
• Your manuscript’s title
• Article type (review, research, case study, etc.)
• Submission date
• Brief background of your study and the research question you sought to answer
• Brief overview of methodology used
• Principle findings and significance to scientific community (how your research advances our understanding of a concept)
• Corresponding author contact information
• Statement that your paper has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by another journal and that all authors have approved of and have agreed to submit the manuscript to this journal

Other commonly requested information:

• Short list of similar articles previously published by the target journal
• List of relevant works by you or your co-authors that have been previously published or are under consideration by other journals. You can include copies of those works.
• Mention of any prior discussions with editor(s) (for example, if you discussed the topic with an editor at a conference)
• Technical specialties required to evaluate your paper
• Potential reviewers and their contact information
• If needed, reviewers to exclude (this information is most likely also requested elsewhere in online submissions forms)

Other disclosures/statements required by the journal (e.g., compliance with ethical standards, conflicts of interest , agreement to terms of submission, copyright sign-over, etc.)

What you should NOT do:

• Don’t use too much jargon or include too many acronyms.
• Don’t over-embellish your findings or their significance. Avoid words such as “novel,” “first ever,” and “paradigm-changing.” These types of statements show bias and will make the editor question your ability to assess your work’s merits objectively.
• Don’t name-drop. Listing people who might endorse your paper and discussing authors’ reputations do not interest editors. They want to know if your content fits their criteria, so focus solely on addressing that point.
• Don’t write a novel. While you want to adequately explain your work and sell its concept to editors, keep your cover letter to a maximum of one page. The letter is only meant to be an introduction and brief overview.
• Avoid humor . As much as we want to grab the editors’ attention, there are too many ways in which humor can go wrong!

How to Structure a Cover Letter

You should use formal language in your cover letter. Since most submissions are delivered electronically, the template below is in a modified e-mail format. However, if you send your cover letter on letterhead (PDF or hard copy by mail), move your contact information to the upper-left corner of the page unless you use pre-printed letterhead, in which case your contact information should be centered at the top of the letter.

ANNOTATED TEMPLATE Journal Submissions Cover Letter

[Journal Editor’s First and Last Name][, Graduate Degree (if any)] TIP: It’s customary to include any graduate degrees in the addressee’s name. e.g.,  John Smith, MD or Carolyn Daniels, MPH [Title] e.g.,  Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Co-Editors-in-Chief [Journal Name] [Journal Address] [Submission Date: Month Day, Year]

Dear Dr./Mr./Ms. [Editor’s last name]:

TIP: Where the editor’s name is not known, use the relevant title employed by the journal, such as “Dear Managing Editor:” or “Dear Editor-in-Chief:”. Using a person’s name is best, however.

TIP: Use “Ms.” and never “Mrs.” or “Miss” in formal business letters.

TIP:  Never   use “Dear Sirs:” or any similar expression. Many editors will find this insulting, especially given that many of them are female!

[Para.1: 2–3 sentences]  I am writing to submit our manuscript entitled, [“Title”] for consideration as a [Journal Name][Article Type]. [One to two sentence “pitch” that summarizes the study design, where applicable, your research question, your major findings, and the conclusion.]

e.g.,  I am writing to submit our manuscript entitled, “X Marks the Spot” for consideration as an  Awesome Science Journal  research article. We examined the efficacy of using X factors as indicators for depression in Y subjects in Z regions through a 12-month prospective cohort study and can confirm that monitoring the levels of X is critical to identifying the onset of depression, regardless of geographical influences.

TIP: Useful phrases to discuss your findings and conclusion include:

• Our findings confirm that…
• We have determined that…
• Our results suggest…
• We found that…
• We illustrate…
• Our findings reveal…
• Our study clarifies…
• Our research corroborates…
• Our results establish…
• Our work substantiates…

[Para. 2: 2–5 sentences]  Given that [context that prompted your research], we believe that the findings presented in our paper will appeal to the [Reader Profile] who subscribe to [Journal Name]. Our findings will allow your readers to [identify the aspects of the journal’s  Aim and Scope  that align with your paper].

TIP: Identify the journal’s typical audience and how those people can utilize your research to expand their understanding of a topic. For example, if many of your target journal’s readers are interested in the public policy implications of various research studies, you may wish to discuss how your conclusions can help your peers to develop stronger policies that more effectively address public concerns.

TIP: Include context about why this research question had to be addressed.

e.g.,  “Given the struggle policymakers have had to define proper criteria to diagnose the onset of depression in teenagers, we felt compelled to identify a cost-effective and universal methodology that local school administrators can use to screen students.”

TIP: If your paper was prompted by prior research, state this. For example, “After initially researching X, Y approached us to conduct a follow-up study that examined Z. While pursuing this project, we discovered [some new understanding that made you decide the information needed to be shared with your peers via publication.]”

e.g.,  Given the alarming increase in depression rates among teenagers and the lack of any uniform practical tests for screening students, we believe that the findings presented in our paper will appeal to education policymakers who subscribe to  The Journal of Education . Although prior research has identified a few methods that could be used in depression screening, such as X and Y, the applications developed from those findings have been cost-prohibitive and difficult to administer on a national level. Thus, our findings will allow your readers to understand the factors involved in identifying the onset of depression in teenagers better and develop more cost-effective screening procedures that can be employed nationally. In so doing, we hope that our research advances the toolset needed to combat the concerns preoccupying the minds of many school administrators.

[Para 3: Similar works]  “This manuscript expands on the prior research conducted and published by [Authors] in [Journal Name]” or “This paper [examines a different aspect of]/ [takes a different approach to] the issues explored in the following papers also published by [Journal Name].”

TIP: You should mention similar studies recently published by your target journal, if any, but list no more than five. If you only want to mention one article, replace the preceding sentence with “This paper [examines a different aspect of]/ [takes a different approach to] the issues explored by [Authors] in [Article Title], also published by [Journal Name] on [DATE].”

[Para. 4: Additional statements often required]  Each of the authors confirms that this manuscript has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by any other journal. Additionally, all of the authors have approved the contents of this paper and have agreed to the [Journal Name]’s submission policies.

TIP: If you have previously publicly shared some form or part of your research elsewhere, state so. For example, you can say, “We have presented a subset of our findings [at Event]/ [as a Type of Publication Medium] in [Location] in [Year].”

e.g.,  We have since expanded the scope of our research to contemplate international feasibility and acquired additional data that has helped us to develop a new understanding of geographical influences.

[Para. 5: Potential Reviewers]  Should you select our manuscript for peer review, we would like to suggest the following potential reviewers/referees because they would have the requisite background to evaluate our findings and interpretation objectively.

• [Name, institution, email, expertise]

To the best of our knowledge, none of the above-suggested persons have any conflict of interest, financial or otherwise.

TIP: Include 3–5 reviewers since it is likely that the journal will use at least one of your suggestions.

TIP: Use whichever term (“reviewer” or “referee”) your target journal uses. Paying close attention to a journal’s terminology is a sign that you have properly researched the journal and have prepared!

[Para. 6: Frequently requested additional information]  Each named author has substantially contributed to conducting the underlying research and drafting this manuscript. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, the named authors have no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise.

[Your Name]

Corresponding Author Institution Title Institution/Affiliation Name [Institution Address] [Your e-mail address] [Tel: (include relevant country/area code)] [Fax: (include relevant country/area code)]

Additional Contact [should the corresponding author not be available] Institution Title Institution/Affiliation Name [Institution Address] [Your e-mail address] [Tel: (include relevant country/area code)] [Fax: (include relevant country/area code)]

Quick Cover Letter Checklist Before Submission

• Set the font to Arial or Times New Roman, size 12 point.
• Single-space all text.
• Use one line space between body paragraphs.
• Do not indent paragraphs.
• Keep all text left justified.
• Use spelling and grammar check software. If needed, use a proofreading service or cover letter editing service  such as Wordvice to review your letter for clarity and concision.
• Double-check the editor’s name. Call the journal to confirm if necessary.

Submissions

Print & forum submissions.

The Harvard Law Review and Harvard Law Review Forum welcome submissions of Articles, Essays, and proposals for Book Reviews through our electronic submission system.

We strongly prefer submissions that comply with the following length limits (including all text, footnotes, and appendices):

• Articles (Print) : 25,000 words*
• Book Reviews (Print) : proposals need not be more than a few pages.
• Essays (Print/ Forum ) : 12,000-17,500 words.
• Responses ( Forum ): 8,000 words (typically solicited but proposals welcome).
• Commentaries ( Forum ) : 6,000 words (typically solicited but proposals welcome).

*Length exceeding 30,000 words will weigh against selection, and we rarely unconditionally accept submissions over 37,500 words.

For background regarding the Review ’s length policy, please see a joint letter issued by a number of law journals across the country.

Electronic Submission

We encourage contributors to submit manuscripts as Microsoft Word documents through our electronic submission system. Alternatively, manuscripts can be mailed to: Articles Office, Harvard Law Review , 1511 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138.

To submit a piece for publication in the Forum , please select “Forum (online)” in the “Article Type” dropdown menu on the submissions form.

Anonymization

Please help facilitate our anonymous review process by:

• Confining your name, affiliation, biographical information, and acknowledgments to a separate cover page
• Including the manuscript’s title on the first text page.
• Removing any self-citations by replacing phrases such as “I have previously written that . . .” with anonymized replacements such as “It has previously been written that . . .”

Please use footnotes that conform to the 21st edition of the Bluebook .

Expedited Review

If you would like to request an expedited review of your submission, please use the unique link included in your confirmation email (these sometimes end up in spam folders).

Blog Submissions

The Blog aims to publish content from a variety of points of view, and uses a more abbreviated editing process than our print and Forum content. If you are a scholar or practitioner interested in publishing on the Blog , please contact us via email at [email protected] and include either a full draft or a description of your potential post. Blog posts are typically between 750 and 1500 words, although there is no strictly enforced maximum. Posts also use hyperlinks instead of footnotes. The Blog does not accept submissions from current law students.

Submission Notes

Seven-day offer window.

The Harvard Law Review and several peer journals have committed to give every author at least seven days to decide whether to accept any offer of publication. The Review believes that eliminating “exploding offers” will improve the quality of our deliberations and the scholarship that we publish.

Preference for Exclusivity

We recommend that you consider submitting your manuscript to us exclusively. Our review process is lengthy; we conduct faculty reviews and a vote of our entire editorial board before we accept pieces. As a result, we are often unable to make quick decisions when faced with exploding offers from other journals. If your preference is to publish in the Review , consider submitting the manuscript to us exclusively at least two weeks before submitting it to other journals.

Authors who choose to submit exclusively should indicate in our electronic submission system the date they expect to send the manuscript to other journals. We apply the same standards of review to all submissions, but submitting exclusively makes it more likely that we will have time to put the manuscript through all the stages of our review process.

Review Process & Timing

The Harvard Law Review carefully considers all manuscripts that it receives. Our selection process has many steps: each piece is reviewed anonymously, at least three editors review every submission, and many pieces go through substantially more stages of review, including an Articles Committee vote, preemption check, faculty peer review, and full-body vote. Although we make every effort to honor requests for expedited review, we do not omit any of our review stages in response to such requests. When requesting an expedited review, please understand that our selection process takes time.

There is no best time to submit a manuscript to the Review . We will never reject an article for lack of space; rather, we will hold it over for consideration by the next volume. We notify authors of our decisions by email and we do not discuss the reasons for our publication decisions.

Source Attribution Policy

The Review aims to ensure that any ideas that already exist in the literature are properly referenced. We do not permit authors to repurpose sentences or paragraphs published elsewhere without quotation marks or citations. As part of our editorial process, we require quotation marks whenever a non-trivial amount of exact language has appeared in another source and citations whenever an idea has been paraphrased from another source — even if the source is the author’s prior work. The Review ’s editors work with authors we publish to help them meet our self-citation requirements.

Cleveland State Law Review

Submissions

Cleveland state law review - print edition.

Guidelines for Publication:

The Law Review welcomes submissions by judges, professors, practitioners, and law clerks. All submissions should include a cover letter and conform to the 20th edition of the Bluebook. The Law Review will give preference to articles between 20 and 60 law review pages in length including text and footnotes. The Law Review strongly disfavors articles exceeding 100 pages. Electronic submissions are preferred, but the Law Review will accept hard copies if necessary.

For more information please contact our Submissions Editor, Abby Jones, at [email protected] or [email protected]

Et Cetera - Online Edition

Et Cetera  welcomes anyone in the legal community to submit short, lightly footnoted articles. The purpose of  Et Cetera  is to publish timely articles that comment on the current legal issues of the day. Ideal  Et Cetera  articles will range from 1,000-5,000 words and be lightly footnoted. All submissions should include a cover letter and conform to the 20th edition of the bluebook.

Please submit submissions to Phillip Shipman and Abby Jones, at [email protected]

Submissions

• Subscriptions
• Masthead Archive
• Law Review Online
• Current Issues Blog
• Print Archive
• Archived Blogs

A Message to Authors

The Editors and Staff of the  Wake Forest Law Review  are committed to providing authors with courteous and timely service. We strive to make the experience of publishing with us the best you will find at any journal.

We understand that the article is your work and bears your name. Our goal is to assist you in producing a work that meets the highest academic standards.

Article Submissions

Submissions for Publication in the Wake Forest Law Review:

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” – Mark Twain

The  Wake Forest Law Review  strongly prefers articles between 15,000 and 25,000 words in length — including the text and footnotes.  This is essentially the equivalent of 35 to 50 law review pages.  Any article submitted in excess of 30,000 words (about 60 law review pages) will weigh heavily against selection and even consideration for review.  For further background regarding the  Law Review ‘s length policy, please see a  joint letter  issued by a number of law journals across the country.

General submission requirements:

• Microsoft Word Document Format
• Times New Roman Font
• Font Size 12
• Standard one inch margins
• Disclosure of any economic interests and affiliations that may influence the views expressed in submissions

The  Wake Forest Law Review  strongly prefers the submission of unsolicited manuscripts via Scholastica.

Manuscripts may also be sent by mail to the attention of the Senior Articles Editor. Manuscripts submitted through the mail cannot be returned unless a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope is submitted with the manuscript. The address is:

Wake Forest Law Review

Wake Forest University School of Law

P.O. Box 7206 Reynolda Station


Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7206

Manuscripts may be sent by e-mail to the  Senior Articles Editor as well. Email submission information:

• Microsoft Word format is preferred, but WordPerfect format will also be accepted.
• Please attach a cover letter describing the article and indicating why it should be published by the Wake Forest Law Review .
• Author contact will be conducted via e-mail following an e-mail submission, unless the author requests otherwise.

Submissions for Publication in the  Wake Forest Law Review Online

Online pieces are geared towards informing practitioners of relevant, nascent legal issues.

Submission Requirements:

• Approximately 5,000 words in length, exclusive of footnotes.
• Sent by e-mail to the Executive Online Editor  or through Scholastica at https://wake-forest-lr-online.scholasticahq.com/for-authors
• Microsoft Word format preferred.
• Please attach a cover letter describing the article and indicating why it should be published.

Online Essay Submissions

Accepting submissions.

The Stanford Law Review Online is currently accepting submissions. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

Stanford Law Review Online submissions should be original pieces of timely legal scholarship written to be accessible to a wide audience. We are particularly interested in responses to print Stanford Law Review pieces. We have a strong preference for submissions less than 4,000 words (including footnotes) .   Submissions longer than 10,000 words will be automatically rejected, and the expectation is that essays longer than 4,000 words will be shortened during the editing process. Please submit an editable word processing document (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .otf, etc.) and NOT a PDF document.

All citations should be in Bluebook format. Lighter footnoting is encouraged; an essay of 3,000 words typically has in the ballpark of 30 footnotes. Please note that footnotes are required for (1) any material pulled directly from a source, including language or an idea from a source (2) any original materials (e.g., cases, statutes, newspaper stories, etc.) (3) any obscure materials that would be difficult for a reader to find. An example of the appropriate level of footnoting can be found here .

As our review process is blind, please remove your name and all identifying information from your submission. You may include your name on your cover letter/CV and in the form below. Note that our general ethics policy also applies to Stanford Law Review Online submissions. Also note that we are not currently accepting submissions from currently enrolled students at institutions other than Stanford University.

Questions should be addressed to Salma Abdelrahman, Online Editor-in-Chief for Volume 77, at online [at] stanfordlawreview [dot] org.

Blinding Submissions

All identifying information, including the author’s name and any acknowledgements, must be removed prior to submission. Please consult the following links for information on how to remove identifying information, including metadata , from Microsoft Word documents:  Word 2007 ,  Word 2010 ,  Word 2013 , and  Word 2016 .

Note: Do not use this form to submit High Risk Data .

Online Essay Submission

Submission information.

• Article Title * Please submit in normal upper and lower case.
• If a response/reply, what is the title of the piece to which you're responding/replying?
• If a response/reply, who is the author of the piece to which you're responding/replying?
• Exclusive Until Format: 11/06/2019
• Expedite Date Format: 11/06/2019
• Publication Offer Is From
• Article * Accepted file types: doc, docx, odc, pdf, Max. file size: 32 MB. Maximum File Size: 10 MB Allowed Extensions: .doc, .docx, .odc, .pdf

Author Information

• Author’s Name * Do not include "Professor" or any title.
• Author’s Title or Position *
• Author's Email Address *
• Author’s Phone Number *
• Author’s Institutional Affiliation *
• Author’s Address *
• I confirm I have blinded my submission, including the metadata. *
• I agree to the Terms of Use . *
• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Note: By submitting this Online Essay Submission form, I hereby consent to Stanford University’s collection and processing of any sensitive personal data contained in this form for the other purposes described in Stanford University’s Online Privacy Policy and Offline Privacy Policy which can be found at privacy.stanford.edu .

Cover Letter Advice & Samples

Cover letter advice and samples.

Section Menu

• Draft your cover letter knowing it is your first writing sample.
• Understand that a cover letter should persuade the reader.
• Use the cover letter to “connect the dots” of your experiences.
• Resist the temptation to restate your resume.
• Keep your cover letter to one page.
• Use the font style and point size that match your resume.
• Remember that the reader is busy: less is more.
• Ensure your cover letter is error free.

Cover Letter Construction

Address block and salutation.

• Address the cover letter to an actual person.
• Research websites or call employer to determine recipient’s name.
• If you cannot find the name of a hiring contact, address your letter to the head of the unit, department, or office.
• While this is the least-preferred option, you may address your letter to “Dear Hiring Committee” if you cannot locate the name of an actual person.
• For firms, address your letter to the recruiting director. For larger firms, contact information for recruiting directors is available at www.nalpdirectory.com in the Basic Information section.
• In the salutation, include the recipient’s title and last name (e.g., “Dear Ms. Raintree”) or write the recipient’s entire name (e.g., “Dear Jamie Morales”).

Paragraph One

• Tell the employer who you are and what you are seeking.
• Highlight (past, present, and future) geographic connections.
• Indicate if you have talked to students/faculty/friends/alumni who speak highly of the organization.

Paragraph Two

• Show that you understand the employer’s mission/practice, the work its attorneys do, and the clients it serves.
• Demonstrate your proven interest in and connection to that mission/practice, work, and clients.

Paragraph Three

• Describe skills you will contribute to support that mission/practice, work, and clients.
• Provide evidence from your experiences and coursework.

Paragraph Four

• List the documents included with the letter.
• Tell the employer how to get in touch with you by email, telephone, and mail.
• Convey your availability for a conversation, mentioning upcoming trips to the area.
• Thank the employer for considering you.
• Mention availability of Yale summer funding, if applicable.
• Optional: Promise that you will follow up in a few weeks if you think the employer would appreciate the diligence.

Sample Cover Letters (PDF)

First Year Student Examples | Second Year Student Examples | Third Year Student Examples

Georgetown Law

Resume and cover letter review services.

The resume and the cover letter are the two most important pieces of correspondence you will write during your job search process.

•  To see how to draft a strong, clear resume that conveys your relevant skills, education, and employment history precisely and efficiently, go to our page on Preparing an Effective Resume .
• To learn about the essentials of constructing persuasive cover letters, go to our page on Drafting Effective Cover Letters and E-mail Correspondence .

These pages, which include samples and guidelines to help you self-critique, will help you make a good start on these crucial documents, and during the academic year, we also encourage you to attend our workshops on resume, cover letter, and business correspondence writing.

We recognize that, even with all of these resources at your disposal, it can be useful to have someone else review these items. To facilitate this process, we offer a service whereby you can submit substantially final drafts of your resume and/or cover letter electronically for review. This service is available for currently enrolled students and alumni who have graduated in the past three years.

Submission Guidelines

• In order to use our review service for your resume, we require you to use one of our resume templates .
• Beginning Monday, January 16, 2023 the Office of Graduate Careers (OGC) will require students who want a cover letter reviewed by a member of OGC to: 1) Draft the cover letter for a specific position, and 2) Include the description of that position with their cover letter. Please note that if a student would like to work on a cover letter before they actually start applying for positions they are interested in, they can still have a cover letter reviewed. Students can find a position description online similar to the kind of role they would one day like to apply for and write the cover letter as if they are applying for that role.
• Please keep in mind that for each semester (Fall semester: September to December) and Spring semester: January to May), currently enrolled LL.M. students are limited to the submission of three (3) documents for review. Note: documents submitted during Fall semester do not count towards a students’ Spring semester limit.
• LL.M. alumni who have graduated in the past three years may use the document review service but are limited to the submission of three (3) documents total. Note: documents submitted while enrolled as a student do not count towards an alumni total.
• A document is defined as text with a separate header (e.g., a resume and cover letter included in one PDF are two documents).
• Office of Graduate Careers will make every effort to reply to your submission within one week (7 business days), although occasionally this is not possible due to high volume. For this reason, please send your documents well in advance of any deadline.
• Our policy is not to review writing samples, personal statements or job application forms.
• We understand that you may need additional support or have a deadline approaching and you need immediate feedback on your resume. For these situations, you can use the virtual platform, Resume Worded . Resume Worded is an online platform available to all Georgetown students that provides instant feedback on your resume. Upload your resume to the platform and it will identify the strengths of your resume and places for improvements.

To submit your document(s)

Document review submission form.

Please review the instructions in the form carefully and complete the submission form to use this service. When attaching your document(s), note any deadlines or other specific concerns you have regarding our review.

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Must-Have Law Review Email Templates, Part 2: Publication Decisions

This is the second post in our Must-Have Law Review Email Templates 2-part series. Click here to view the first post.

Communicating with authors while you’re mid-review of submissions is one thing. Letting authors know whether or not your board has decided to publish their article is another, sometimes uncomfortable, thing.

Templates for both publication offers and article rejections are important tools that all law reviews should keep on hand. A publication offer template is arguably the most enjoyable to compose and send — and your board probably already has one. But having a template for letting authors know your board is not extending an offer is equally important, though often overlooked. Don’t let nerves, lack of time, or “but we’ve never sent rejections before” stop you from letting authors know the fate of their article.

We’ve drafted some starter templates to help your board let authors know whether or not you have decided to extend a publication offer. Remember: you can save up to 10 different decision templates on Scholastica for easy use and reuse, and you can let multiple authors at once know that you’re not extending publication offers on their articles.

These templates are also online in a Google doc , formatted so that they can be copied and pasted right into Scholastica. If you do use these examples to create your own templates, we’d recommend updating them so they reflect the personality and values of your board. As long as you send a polite and clear decision letter, your submitting authors will appreciate it !

Decision not to publish

When you’ve determined that you’re not going to extend an offer on an article, it’s easy and courteous to let authors know . You can send rejections one-by-one , or wait and reject a bunch of articles all at once every couple of days. Drafting a rejection email doesn’t have to be hard! Use the example below for inspiration as you draft your own rejection template.

Here’s an example decision not to publish email:

Decision to publish

Finding an article you want to publish is exciting! Based on our experience working with law review editors, acceptance letters that are clear, direct, and convey exactly what publishing with your law review entails are great ways to secure an article.

Here’s an example decision to publish email:

Rejecting articles that old boards didn’t reject

The most common thing we hear from editors who don’t want to send rejections to authors is “our law review has never sent rejections, so how could we start now?” That’s a tough and awkward position to be in, but it’s not something that is difficult to change. By drafting a polite decision email and sending it to all the old articles in your manuscript table, you’re able to clear out your queue and leave your next board with a fresh slate!

Here’s an example email for rejecting articles that old boards didn’t reject:

Access these email templates so your team can use them

We hope you find these sample decision letter templates useful! For those reading this who are Scholastica users, or if you’re interested in learning more about how to communicate decisions to authors via Scholastica, be sure to check out our help doc: _ Editor Guide > Make decisions . We’ve also put these email templates into a Google Doc so they’re easy for you to access and personalize for your own use!

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