---

name: cover-letter-drafter description: Generates professional cover letters for journal submissions and job. license: MIT author: AIPOCH

Source: https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills

Cover Letter Drafter

Creates tailored cover letters for academic and medical positions.

When to Use

• Use this skill when the task needs Generates professional cover letters for journal submissions and job.
• Use this skill for academic writing tasks that require explicit assumptions, bounded scope, and a reproducible output format.
• Use this skill when you need a documented fallback path for missing inputs, execution errors, or partial evidence.

Key Features

See ## Features above for related details.

• Scope-focused workflow aligned to: Generates professional cover letters for journal submissions and job.
• Packaged executable path(s): scripts/main.py.
• Reference material available in references/ for task-specific guidance.
• Structured execution path designed to keep outputs consistent and reviewable.

Dependencies

See ## Prerequisites above for related details.

• Python: 3.10+. Repository baseline for current packaged skills.
• Third-party packages: not explicitly version-pinned in this skill package. Add pinned versions if this skill needs stricter environment control.

Example Usage

See ## Usage above for related details.

cd "20260318/scientific-skills/Academic Writing/cover-letter-drafter"
python -m py_compile scripts/main.py
python scripts/main.py --help

Example run plan:

1. Confirm the user input, output path, and any required config values.
2. Edit the in-file CONFIG block or documented parameters if the script uses fixed settings.
3. Run python scripts/main.py with the validated inputs.
4. Review the generated output and return the final artifact with any assumptions called out.

Implementation Details

See ## Workflow above for related details.

• Execution model: validate the request, choose the packaged workflow, and produce a bounded deliverable.
• Input controls: confirm the source files, scope limits, output format, and acceptance criteria before running any script.
• Primary implementation surface: scripts/main.py.
• Reference guidance: references/ contains supporting rules, prompts, or checklists.
• Parameters to clarify first: input path, output path, scope filters, thresholds, and any domain-specific constraints.
• Output discipline: keep results reproducible, identify assumptions explicitly, and avoid undocumented side effects.

Quick Check

Use this command to verify that the packaged script entry point can be parsed before deeper execution.

python -m py_compile scripts/main.py

Audit-Ready Commands

Use these concrete commands for validation. They are intentionally self-contained and avoid placeholder paths.

python -m py_compile scripts/main.py
python scripts/main.py --help

Workflow

1. Confirm the user objective, required inputs, and non-negotiable constraints before doing detailed work.
2. Validate that the request matches the documented scope and stop early if the task would require unsupported assumptions.
3. Use the packaged script path or the documented reasoning path with only the inputs that are actually available.
4. Return a structured result that separates assumptions, deliverables, risks, and unresolved items.
5. If execution fails or inputs are incomplete, switch to the fallback path and state exactly what blocked full completion.

Features

• Journal submission cover letters
• Job application cover letters
• Fellowship application letters
• Customizable templates

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Required	Description
--purpose	string	job	No	Cover letter type (journal, job, fellowship)
--recipient, -r	string	-	Yes	Target journal or institution
--key-points, -k	string	-	Yes	Comma-separated key points to highlight
--title	string	-	No	Manuscript title (for journal submissions)
--significance	string	-	No	Significance statement (for journal submissions)
--author, --applicant, -a	string	Applicant	No	Author or applicant name
--position	string	-	No	Position title (for job applications)
--fellowship	string	-	No	Fellowship name (for fellowship applications)
--output, -o	string	-	No	Output JSON file path

Usage

# Journal submission cover letter
python scripts/main.py --purpose journal --recipient "Nature Medicine" \
  --key-points "Novel findings,Clinical relevance" \
  --title "Study X" --significance "major advance" --author "Dr. Smith"

# Job application cover letter
python scripts/main.py --purpose job --recipient "Harvard Medical School" \
  --key-points "10 years experience,Published 20 papers" \
  --position "Assistant Professor" --applicant "Dr. Jones"

# Fellowship application
python scripts/main.py --purpose fellowship --recipient "NIH" \
  --key-points "Research excellence,Leadership skills" \
  --fellowship "K99" --applicant "Dr. Lee"

Output Format

{
  "cover_letter": "string",
  "subject_line": "string",
  "word_count": "int"
}

Risk Assessment

Risk Indicator	Assessment	Level
Code Execution	Python/R scripts executed locally	Medium
Network Access	No external API calls	Low
File System Access	Read input files, write output files	Medium
Instruction Tampering	Standard prompt guidelines	Low
Data Exposure	Output files saved to workspace	Low

Security Checklist

• No hardcoded credentials or API keys
• No unauthorized file system access (../)
• Output does not expose sensitive information
• Prompt injection protections in place
• Input file paths validated (no ../ traversal)
• Output directory restricted to workspace
• Script execution in sandboxed environment
• Error messages sanitized (no stack traces exposed)
• Dependencies audited

Prerequisites

No additional Python packages required.

Evaluation Criteria

Success Metrics

• Successfully executes main functionality
• Output meets quality standards
• Handles edge cases gracefully
• Performance is acceptable

Test Cases

1. Basic Functionality: Standard input → Expected output
2. Edge Case: Invalid input → Graceful error handling
3. Performance: Large dataset → Acceptable processing time

Lifecycle Status

• Current Stage: Draft
• Next Review Date: 2026-03-06
• Known Issues: None
• Planned Improvements:
  • Performance optimization
  • Additional feature support

Output Requirements

Every final response should make these items explicit when they are relevant:

• Objective or requested deliverable
• Inputs used and assumptions introduced
• Workflow or decision path
• Core result, recommendation, or artifact
• Constraints, risks, caveats, or validation needs
• Unresolved items and next-step checks

Error Handling

• If required inputs are missing, state exactly which fields are missing and request only the minimum additional information.
• If the task goes outside the documented scope, stop instead of guessing or silently widening the assignment.
• If scripts/main.py fails, report the failure point, summarize what still can be completed safely, and provide a manual fallback.
• Do not fabricate files, citations, data, search results, or execution outcomes.

Input Validation

This skill accepts requests that match the documented purpose of cover-letter-drafter and include enough context to complete the workflow safely.

Do not continue the workflow when the request is out of scope, missing a critical input, or would require unsupported assumptions. Instead respond:

cover-letter-drafter only handles its documented workflow. Please provide the missing required inputs or switch to a more suitable skill.

Response Template

Use the following fixed structure for non-trivial requests:

1. Objective
2. Inputs Received
3. Assumptions
4. Workflow
5. Deliverable
6. Risks and Limits
7. Next Checks

If the request is simple, you may compress the structure, but still keep assumptions and limits explicit when they affect correctness.