UOIT Career Centre - Cover Letter Rubric
Language
Appearance
General Cover Letter Aspects
Excellent
 Formatted as professional
business letter (including
candidate’s name, full address,
professional email and phone
number listed across the top of
the page, followed by proper
date format underneath
towards top left of page.
Employer’s full contact info
beneath date)
 In paragraph format
 Single spaced
 Appropriate font type/size
 Length does not exceed 1
page
 Margins are 1” or similar
 Appears professional/clean
(appropriate paper, no marks
or smudges)
 Language professional and
sophisticated
 Consistent variety in wording
and sentence structure
 Skills, experience, and
education is well-articulated
using relevant examples
 Letter tailored to a specific
employer
 Industry-specific wording used
correctly
 Language flows easily,
appropriately placed
terminology
 Appropriate verb tenses used
 Well-written, easy to
understand and concise
 No spelling/grammar errors are
evident
 Punctuation is consistent and
appropriate
Page 1 of 2
Satisfactory
 Formatted fairly well but
deviates somewhat from
professional business letter
format
 Candidates address, the date,
or employer contact is not
properly organized
 Paragraphs are not formatted
correctly, i.e. indented
paragraphs
 Font type/size could be
improved
 Length exceeds 1 page
 Appears fairly professional and
clean
 Margins are too large/too small
Needs work
 Professional business letter
format not used
 Essential contact information
is missing
 Paragraphs are not formatted
properly – letter is in point
form
 Inappropriate font type/size
 Length exceeds 1.5 pages
long or is too short (.5 of a
page) that it does not provide
enough information about the
candidate
 Appearance is unprofessional
 Language fairly professional
and sophisticated
 Some variety in wording and
sentence structure
 Skills, experience, education
articulated but lacks examples
 Letter is industry-specific but not
tailored to individual employer
 Industry-specific wording is
used minimally or use could be
improved
 Language flow fairly easily but
could be improved
 Appropriate verb tenses used
most of the time
 Fairly well-written,
understandable, could be more
concise
 3 or less spelling/grammar
errors
 3 or less punctuation errors
 Language is unprofessional
 No variety in
wording/sentence structure
 Candidate does not
successfully articulate what
they can offer
 No relevant examples cited
 Letter is not industry-specific,
not tailored to an employer
 Industry-specific wording not
used (or not used correctly)
 Language flow needs
substantial improvement
 Verb tenses are inappropriate
 Letter is difficult to read and
understand
 3 or more spelling/grammar
errors
 3 or more punctuation errors
Comments
UOIT Career Centre - Cover Letter Rubric
Closing paragraph
Body
Opening paragraph
Salutation
Cover Letter Sections
Excellent
 Letter addressed to
appropriate individual
 Salutation begins with first and
last name or appropriate prefix
(i.e. Mr., Ms., Dr. )
 Begins with captivating/specific
opening line
 Answers the question why the
candidate is suited to particular
job and/or company
 Identifies job title/application
number/where job
advertisement was found
 Appropriate length
 Catches readers attention
 Paragraph lengths are
appropriate (4-5 sentences)
 Highlights most marketable
qualifications, skills, knowledge
and experience relevant to
employer needs
 Does not list vague skill skills
(i.e. hardworking)
 Examples used to demonstrate
suitability for the position
 Thanks employer and
reiterates interest in position
 Candidate clearly indicates
they are assertively seeking an
interview opportunity (also
indicates availability)
 Includes candidate contact
information, including
professional email address
 Closed with appropriate
remark (i.e. “sincerely”), typed
full name below, enclosure
underneath
Page 2 of 2
Satisfactory
Needs work
 Letter not addressed
appropriately
 Prefix possibly inappropriate
(i.e. uses Mrs. Instead of Ms.)
 Generic salutation (i.e. “dear
hiring manager”
 Opening line is fairly vague
 Includes company information,
does not link to applicants
goals
 Identifies job title/application
number but not where job ad
was found or vice versa
 Fairly long or fairly short
 Not particularly catchy but
incorporates some good ideas
 Paragraph lengths are fairly
sufficient
 Highlights qualifications, skills,
knowledge and experience but
does not demonstrate
relevance to employer/job
 Some skill sets mentioned are
common/vague
 Examples are minimal
 No salutation included
 Contact name misspelled
 Salutation uses “To whom it
may concern”
 Thanks employer but does not
reiterates interest or vice versa
 Candidate does not clearly
indicate they are seeking an
interview opportunity
 Some contact information
missing and email address is
unprofessional
 Closing remark is inappropriate
 Candidates typed name
included without signature or
enclosure
 No thank you statement
present nor statement of
interest
 Does not indicate candidate is
seeking interview
 All contact information missing
 Cover letter not closed
appropriately, inappropriate
wording used
 Candidate does not include
typed or signed name or
enclosure
 Opening line too general
 Company information not
included
 Job title/application number
are not included
 Opening paragraph fails to
catch readers attention
 Is too long or too short
 Paragraph lengths are too long
(more than 6 sentences) or too
short (less than 3 sentences)
 Qualifications, skills,
knowledge and experience are
highlighted but irrelevant to
employer/job
 Skills are common/vague
 Examples are not used
Comments