IEEE Cover Letter and Significance Framing

Use this skill to write the editor-facing letter that accompanies an IEEE submission. The cover letter should help the editor see fit, novelty, evidence, and compliance quickly; it is not a second abstract and not a reviewer response.

Core stance

• Editor first. State why the manuscript belongs in the target journal or special issue, what the technical contribution is, and why the evidence is sufficient.
• Specific beats promotional. Use concrete contribution/evidence language; avoid "highly novel", "breakthrough", and unsupported impact claims.
• Do not over-disclose reviewer-response detail. For a revision, summarize the main changes and point to the response letter; do not replay every comment.
• Compliance matters. Include originality, non-duplication, conflicts, ethics/data/code statements, and suggested/opposed reviewers only when the journal asks or the user supplies them.
• No fabricated names or claims. Never invent editor names, reviewer names, manuscript IDs, funding statements, conflicts, or data availability.

When to open extra files

File	Open when
references/cover-letter-template.md	Drafting a new-submission or revised-submission cover letter
references/significance-framing.md	Writing the significance/fit paragraph for JSAC/TWC/TCOM/WCL/CL, special issues, or interdisciplinary framing

For target-journal routing, also use ieee-writing's journal-fit.md when needed. For reviewer responses use ieee-response.

Intake

• target journal or special issue;
• manuscript title and paper type;
• one-sentence contribution;
• 2-4 evidence points: theorem/proof, algorithm, simulation, testbed, dataset, or measured result;
• status: new submission, revision, transfer, or resubmission after rejection;
• manuscript ID, editor name, suggested reviewers/conflicts, and required declarations if available.

If target, title, contribution, or evidence is missing, draft with placeholders and list the missing items.

Workflow

1. Write a fit sentence: target journal/special issue + technical scope + why the paper belongs.
2. State the contribution plainly: one paragraph, no hype, no citations unless the journal expects them.
3. Tie evidence to claims: theorem/proof/simulation/testbed/complexity and the target-specific reason it is enough.
4. For revisions, summarize changes: new experiments, clarified assumptions, softened claims, added comparisons, improved figures.
5. Add compliance paragraph: originality, exclusive submission, conflicts, data/code/ethics, reviewer suggestions only from supplied facts.
6. Close briefly and keep the letter usually under one page.

Output format

1. Cover letter: copy-pasteable editor-facing letter.
2. Significance / fit note: 3-5 bullets explaining why the framing matches the target journal.
3. Compliance checklist: required statements and whether the user supplied them.
4. Missing inputs: exact editor name, manuscript ID, reviewer names, declarations, or evidence.