Time: 50 minutes
Instructor Preparation: Review Chapter 11 (p. 312-317) of Technical Communication.
Student Preparation: Read Chapter 11 (p. 312-317) of Technical Communication.
Purpose: To teach students about the audience of their Cover Letter and draft guidelines for the letter.

Discussion (15 minutes)

Discuss researching audience for the Cover Letter, ask questions about audience demographics, such as education, and location.

Who is a Cover Letter addressed to?

What do you know about the people that might be reading it?

How do you find out more about who is reading the letter?

Group Work (20 minutes)

Assign students to groups of 4. Have students make a list in a shared Google Doc of what to include in the introduction, body, and section of the Cover Letter. Have them refer to page 399 of Technical Communication.

Debrief (15 minutes)

Discuss what should be included in a Cover Letter.

Give examples of formatting (including date, address, salutation) if there is time.