Hi guys,

I am applying for a phd that asks for a cover letter outlining your suitability for the studentship, CV and a piece of critical writing.

First of all, for the cover letter I need to explain why am I the best candidate for the Phd. Should I send it as an attachment or put it in an email and only attach CV and critical writing piece.

Also, I have never seen Phd's requesting a piece of critical writing. Can anyone give any advice on whether you have ever seen a Phd that requests one and what style did you use to write it.

Thank you :)

Attach your cover letter as with the other things they have asked for. There's almost a standard format for these, so make sure you google that.

I've not seen critical writing asked for. Do you have something you've already done for a master's thesis or something? If you've done some research, your discussion should have been critical. If you're writing something from scratch, then pick a relevant topic and write a short analysis of it comparing and contrasting different theories or results.

Email the admissions department and ask for some guidance about the critical writing. I bet they will give you some advice on what they are looking for.

Never seen critical writing before but would agree with Tree, pick a topic (preferably close to what you want to do) and critically analyse it. Take the undergrad gloves off and be honest about your thoughts like gaps in knowledge, future issues or propose changes in methodology. Don't be too harsh but just show you can make well reasoned arguments.

Unless they as for different, I usually attach my cover letter to the front of my CV.

I always prefer attaching my cover letter along with my CV. I think that’show I’ve seen most of my peers do it. With respect to critical writing, I guess the university would like to assess your how good you are at making well-reasoned arguments. The best way to go about this is to contact the university and know if they have any specific requirements in terms of formatting and content. From there you could either use your previous masters research and give a critical analysis or have a look at a topic in your field and provide a short but comprehensive analysis on it.