The purpose of the cover letter is to explain ? politely ? what you are submitting and why. State the title and length of your manuscript and indicate the number of tables and figures. Explain why you decided to submit your manuscript to that particular journal. Why would your paper be of interest to the readers of that journal? What are the strengths of your paper? Explain which section of the target journal would be most appropriate for your manuscript (e.g., Original Articles, Brief Communications, or Reviews). In the salutation of the cover letter, make sure that you use the current editor?s name ? and spell it correctly. Avoid writing ?Dear Editor.? Avoid using the name of the editor of the journal that you submitted to on your first try.