Cover Letter Essay

Elements/parts of a cover letter:
Information about you 
Begin your cover letter with your contact information. It should be in block style, on the left margin of your paper, towards the top.
Name
Current home address
Telephone number

Date 
Include a date as you would do with any business letter.

Contact Person's Name, Title, Employer, and Address
Including a specific name can get your letter and resume to the hiring manager more quickly and can be an effective personal touch. If you are applying for an advertised position that does not give a name to contact, call the company and ask for the department manager's name.

Salutation 
Choose the appropriate way to address the contact person.
For example: 
Dear Mr. Johns (if a man's name is the contact)
Dear Ms. Smith (if a woman's name is the contact)
Dear Prospective Employer (if there is no contact name)

Opening Paragraph 
The first paragraph mentions the position you’re interested in.
and how you’ve learned of the opening (if indeed you have learned of an opening). You may, for example, know of a job through:
a classified advertisement
an unsolicited mailing
the Internet
personal referrals.  

If a friend or business contact told you about the position, and you’ve asked if you can
mention his or her name, do so.   In this paragraph, you may want to specify why you’re
applying to this particular company (i.e., because of its outstanding reputation in the
field, etc.).   This paragraph may be two to four sentences long.
 
If you are sending a mass mailing to many companies over a large area, along with
focusing on the type of position you seek, introduce some of the abilities you have that
will be of interest to an employer.   If you are sending a letter to a specific company and
don’t know whether there is an opening, begin by explaining what type of position you
want and why you are especially interested in working for that company

Example:
Having contributed as...