Michigan 4-H State Awards: Writing your cover letter

Betty Jo Krosnicki<nashbett@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension -

State Awards recognize 4-H members for engaging in rich learning experiences resulting in outstanding knowledge and life skill development. Learn how to write a cover letter for your State Award application.

Learning to write a cover letter is a valuable life skill that will aid 4-H members in their future job and career pursuits. A cover letter is an introductory letter that accompanies a resume when an applicant applies for a job, especially in a situation where the application for a position is made by mail or electronically. The format of a cover letter is always formal and is arranged in the following sequence:

  1. Your complete mailing address
  2. Date
  3. Complete mailing address of the recipient
  4. Greeting
  5. Body of the letter containing four paragraphs
  6. Closing
  7. Your signature
  8. Your name typed with contact information

Additional details to include in your cover letter and formatting instructions can be found in the Michigan State University Extension resource, “Winning Cover Letters.”

4-H members who participate in the Michigan 4-H State Awards program will prepare a cover letter to accompany their award application. The cover letter for 4-H State Awards is submitted with the application, included within a single Microsoft Word document. The Overview of Mark of Excellence and the State 4-H Awards Program contains instructions for participating in the 4-H State Awards program, including a sample cover letter.

Find additional tips for writing a cover letter in these MSU Extension articles:

Find out more about Michigan 4-H State Awards at: 4-H Scholarships and Recognition Program webpage. All 4-H State Award applications must be submitted by Feb. 1 to State4HAwards@anr.msu.edu. Look for additional

Look for additional MSU Extension articles that provide tips for completing a Michigan 4-H State Awards application, including:

To learn about the positive impact of Michigan 4-H career preparation, money management and entrepreneurship programs, read the 2015 Impact Report: “Preparing Michigan Youth for Future Careers and Employment.”

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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