“Tony Stark could get that job”: Teaching cover letters through fictional characters

Abstract

This activity offers students a way to engage in cover letter writing, familiarizing themselves with the style and content of these documents in a creative, fictional scenario. Students will both prepare letters and evaluate them, with options to vary the gamification of the activity included. During the debrief, students assess their experience and identify practices they can emulate in their own letter writing.

Courses

Business Communication, Organizational Communication.

Objectives

Students will learn how to write descriptively and precisely through the preparation of mock cover letters. Students will learn how to evaluate professional documents through peer critique.