Applied Sciences Cover Letter: What Editors Actually Need to See
Applied Sciences editors screen for section fit and applied focus before anything else. A clear cover letter that names the right section and states a practical result moves fastest through triage.
Senior Researcher, Chemistry
Author context
Specializes in manuscript preparation and peer review strategy for chemistry journals, with deep experience evaluating submissions to JACS, Angewandte Chemie, Chemical Reviews, and ACS-family journals.
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How to use this page well
These pages work best when they behave like tools, not essays. Use the quick structure first, then apply it to the exact journal and manuscript situation.
Question | What to do |
|---|---|
Use this page for | Getting the structure, tone, and decision logic right before you send anything out. |
Most important move | Make the reviewer-facing or editor-facing ask obvious early rather than burying it in prose. |
Common mistake | Turning a practical page into a long explanation instead of a working template or checklist. |
Next step | Use the page as a tool, then adjust it to the exact manuscript and journal situation. |
Quick answer: a strong Applied Sciences cover letter names the target MDPI section, states a clear applied result, and shows that the submission is complete. The journal spans over 40 sections, so the editor's first job is routing -- help them do it fast.
What the official sources do and do not tell you
The official Applied Sciences pages describe the MDPI submission process and list section scopes, but they do not prescribe a specific cover-letter format.
What the journal structure does imply is clear:
- the manuscript must fit a named section and its scope
- the work should be applied, not purely theoretical or fundamental
- the editor needs enough information to route the paper without guessing
That means section selection and scope clarity matter more here than at most journals.
What the editor is really screening for
At triage, the academic editor handling your paper is usually asking:
- does this paper belong in the section the author selected?
- is the work genuinely applied, or is it a fundamental study dressed up with an application paragraph?
- does the submission look complete enough to send to reviewers without administrative delays?
- is the contribution clear enough to justify review in a broad-scope journal?
A cover letter that answers these questions in the first few sentences will move through triage fastest.
A practical template you can adapt
Dear Editor,
We submit the manuscript "[TITLE]" for consideration in the
[SECTION NAME] section of Applied Sciences.
This study addresses [specific applied problem]. We show that
[main result], which has direct relevance to [practical domain
or application].
The manuscript fits Applied Sciences because it reports applied
results in [field] rather than purely fundamental findings. We
selected the [SECTION NAME] section because [one-sentence
justification].
The work is original, not under consideration elsewhere, and
approved by all authors.
Sincerely,
[Name]The section-naming sentence is the single most important addition compared to a generic MDPI cover letter.
Mistakes that make these letters weak
- never naming the target section, forcing the editor to guess routing
- writing the letter as though the journal were a specialist venue rather than a broad applied-science platform
- describing the study topic without stating what applied result was found
- making novelty claims that belong at a high-impact flagship journal instead of showing practical utility
- submitting a fundamentally theoretical paper and hoping the word "applied" in the title is enough
These mistakes slow triage or trigger desk rejection.
What should drive the submission decision instead
Before polishing the letter further, confirm the journal fit. Applied Sciences is broad but explicitly applied -- purely fundamental work without a practical angle will struggle regardless of letter quality. Check the journal's own author guidelines and browse recent papers in your target section to verify alignment.
Practical verdict
The strongest Applied Sciences cover letters are short, section-specific, and results-focused. They tell the editor where to route the paper and why the work is applied.
So the useful takeaway is this: name your section, state the applied result, and keep the letter operationally clean. A free Manusights scan is the fastest way to pressure-test that framing before submission.
Sources
- 1. Applied Sciences instructions for authors, MDPI.
- 2. Applied Sciences section list and scope, MDPI.
- 3. MDPI editorial process, MDPI.
- 4. MDPI publishing policies, MDPI.
Reference library
Use the core publishing datasets alongside this guide
This article answers one part of the publishing decision. The reference library covers the recurring questions that usually come next: how selective journals are, how long review takes, and what the submission requirements look like across journals.
Dataset / reference guide
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.
Dataset / benchmark
Biomedical Journal Acceptance Rates
A field-organized acceptance-rate guide that works as a neutral benchmark when authors are deciding how selective to target.
Reference table
Journal Submission Specs
A high-utility submission table covering word limits, figure caps, reference limits, and formatting expectations.
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