I was enquiring to whether there was the possibility of gaining a funded studentship with the group for an international student.

My own research, although in a different type of receptors, Cannabinoids compared to muscaranic receptors. My project title was, “Allosteric Modulation of the hCB1 Receptor”. I was doing the research under Dr xx xx,

I feel that working in your department would be fascinating as I do keep up to date with the research from your group and am I am a biological chemist, this is right in my field of interest. Why I have not gone down the cannabinoid route, the groups doing research which closely matched my PGCert project which I then used as credit transfer for the masters.

Working in the group would be a chance too good to miss with someone whose research I follow a lot.

I have updated my CVs to include project titles as well, which weren't there before.

How can you word it? I feel like tigger typing out the letter! I was telling you guys I have updated my CV, not them.

Is this someone you've had any previous contact with, or someone who knows nothing about you/your experience at all?

Are you 'cold calling' or have they advertised asking people to make enquiries?

No contact and nothing about me and I am cold calling

Janine, I am wondering whether the informality and quality of your writing is hindering your success in finding a PhD position.

"My own research, although in a different type of receptors, Cannabinoids compared to muscaranic receptors."

Sentences such as this are just not grammatically correct and if I was a PI being approached in this way I'm sorry to say I would not consider such an application.

I think if you can improve the quality of your writing it will really assist you in obtaining a PhD.

That is where the dyspraxia takes its strongest effect in the sentence construction.

Learning, thought and memory:
Difficulty in planning and organising thought
Poor memory, especially short-term memory. May forget and lose things
Unfocused and erratic. Can be messy and cluttered
Poor sequencing causes problems with maths, reading and spelling and writing reports at work
Accuracy problems. Difficulty with copying sounds, writing, movements, proofreading
Difficulty in following instructions, especially more than one at a time
Difficulty with concentration. May be easily distracted
May do only one thing at a time properly, though may try to do many things at once
Slow to finish a task. May daydream and wander about aimlessly
Taken from:

Well I can see that this would make things rather tough.

All of the things that you have mentioned are very important qualities to have when conducting research. Do you feel that you are able do a PhD despite these difficulties? What mechanisms are you intending to use to assist you and can you use these when constructing contact emails?

University giving help with proofreading and software I have which speaks it back to you. It is more the writing which is where it will strike.

I think the important thing to remember is that most people find it initially tough to write cover letters and so forth, and even people who have perfect spelling etc are well advised to get a friend to look over their application first.

As you have no prior relationship with the person you’re writing to, it has to be absolutely clear what the purpose of the contact is. Keep the message short but informative, and don’t be presumptive (leave start with talk of funding)

In these kind of situations I usually follow the following kind of pattern
- Introduce myself
- Explain *WHY* I’m getting in touch with that person (the intent of the message)
- Explain why I’m getting in touch with that *THAT* person (as opposed to any old prof)
- Explain why *I’m* getting in touch with that THAT person (i.e. why I’m the sort of candidate that they should be interested in, with supporting evidence).
- Open the channels for further communication

I'll post an example in another post. But it would also be worth you searching online for advice in this kind of thing e.g.

So here’s a made up example….
Dear Professor Smith,
I am a prospective PhD candidate writing to enquire as to whether there are any opportunities arising for graduate study in your department.

During my Masters degree in Foot Studies at the University of Hogwarts, I undertook a research project on the little toe. Through the course of this work I became interested in how the little toe relates to the other toes. Reading around the subject I discovered that your group has done extensive work on the Big toe, and I was wondering if there might be the possibility of developing a project in big toe-little toe interactions.

I attach a copy of my CV with further details of my experience to date. I have been an active member of [such and such extra-curricular academic activity] and would bring this enthusiasm to a PhD project. I would very much value the opportunity to contribute to your department’s work.

Please let me know if it would be possible for me to call or meet you to discuss possible opportunities. I am available to start a PhD in the near future, but I recognise that funded opportunities may take longer to plan, in which case I would be committed to seeing through a funding application process.

Yours sincerely

Jo Bloggs
-----------------------------------
There might be a need for a bit more detail about the candidate and his/her experience, or why s/he actually wants to do a PhD but this is a kind of structure that could work. It's just a question of balancing a standard format with expressing your own voice. You don't want to sound too bland, but don't let enthusiasm cause too much informality to creep in either.

On a separate note, before approaching a Prof, you might want to check the quality of that uni's student support systems, especially with respect to any particular issues you may need help with.

Good luck with your application

I have the link bookmarked or "stash" and I wish I could right as well as that. I have to entail people for spelling etc. Thanks for the sample as well as the link :)

It might help to write a list of bullet points of the kind of things you need to get across, and then get someone to check if they are in a sensible order. There needs to be a certain flow of the points you're making so that the person reading it ca n see where you're coming from and going to.