Cover letter outline: the five parts, in order
A cover letter has a fixed outline, and keeping to it makes the letter easy to read and easy to skim. The parts, top to bottom, are these.
- Header. Your name, phone, email, city and a profile link if it is professional.
- Date and recipient. Today's date, then the name, title and company of the person you are writing to.
- Greeting. Dear and a name, or a team. The choices are in the guide to addressing a cover letter.
- Body. Three or four short paragraphs: why this job, why you, and what you ask for. What goes in each is in how to write a cover letter.
- Closing. A sign-off, your typed name, and any enclosure line.
The rest of this page is about the settings that make the structure look right: type, margins and file.
An annotated cover letter outline
The block below shows the layout. The notes in brackets label each part, and the text is invented placeholder wording, not a letter to copy.
Tessa Morgan [header: name]
(555) 010-0187 · tessa.morgan@example.com · Denver, CO [contact line]
October 12, 2026 [date, then a blank line]
Ms. Hana Brooks, Operations Director
Northgate Freight Partners [recipient]
Dear Ms. Brooks: [greeting]
Your plan to open a second distribution center is the reason I am applying for the logistics coordinator role. [paragraph 1: why this job]
In three years at a regional carrier I cut damaged-goods claims from 14 a month to 6 by changing the loading order. [paragraph 2: why you, one proof]
I would welcome a call next week to discuss how I can help. My resume is attached. [paragraph 3: the ask]
Sincerely,
Tessa Morgan [closing]
Cover letter font, size and spacing
Use the same typeface as your resume, so the two documents look like a set. Choose a plain, widely installed one, as listed in the best font for a resume guide. For the cover letter font size, 11 or 12 points is the usual range, and 10 is the lowest that stays comfortable to read. Single-space the lines, and leave one blank line between paragraphs instead of indenting them. How long the letter should run is covered in cover letter length. Align the text to the left; justified text can leave uneven gaps. Use bold only for your name at the top, if at all, and avoid italics for long passages.
| Setting | A good default | Range that still reads well |
|---|---|---|
| Typeface | The same as your resume | Any plain serif or sans-serif font |
| Size | 11 points | 10 to 12 points |
| Line spacing | Single | 1.0 to 1.15 |
| Between paragraphs | One blank line | 6 to 12 points of space |
| Alignment | Left | Left only |
| Length | Under one page | 250 to 400 words is typical |
Cover letter margins and page setup
One inch on all four sides is the standard margin for a cover letter, and it is the default in most word processors. If the letter runs a few lines over, shorten it before you reduce the margins; margins below about 0.75 inch make the page look crowded, and a reader notices. Use the paper size of your country: US Letter (8.5 by 11 inches) in the United States and Canada and A4 in most other places. Keep a single column, and leave plenty of white space, since a letter is read quickly.
The header: match your resume
What to put on a cover letter for a resume is the same header your resume uses. Copy its style: the same name, the same contact line and the same font, so the two documents are clearly from one person. Include your name, a phone number, an email address and your city. Add a link to a professional profile or a portfolio only if it supports this job; see the guide to a resume website if you have one. Leave out your full street address (the address on a resume guide explains what to give instead), your date of birth and a photograph, none of which a US employer needs.
File type, file name and sending
Save the letter as a PDF unless the employer asks for another type, because a PDF keeps your layout on every device. Name the file with your name and the purpose, as in Tessa-Morgan-Cover-Letter.pdf, with plain letters and hyphens. If you apply by email, the letter can be the body of the email with your resume attached, or a separate PDF with a short note in the body; either is fine, but do not do both with the same text. Check the file once by opening it on a phone. If your resume is in the same application, use the ATS resume checker on that file too.
Small format slips a reader notices
The common ones are a letter that runs to a second page, a different font from the resume, very small margins squeezed in to save space, a header that repeats a long list of details, text justified so it looks stretched, and a file saved with a vague name such as final.pdf. Another is a letter with no spacing between paragraphs, which turns it into a block of text. Each of these is easy to fix before you send, and each is the kind of detail that a reader takes as a sign of how you work.
Sources
Checked on 12 October 2026.