访问学者作为仅次于高校教师出国访学的第二大群体，近年是不少人士优选的出国进修途径之一。众所周知，每年申请访学的人数众多、机会难得，各界高端人士为了再次提高自己的实力、实现学术与国际接轨的愿望，都开始注重海外履历、海外学术交流，因此出国做访问学者也就成了热门的选择。但申请访问学者之路看似简单，做起来却十分难，其所花时间经历是无法估量的。如果申请者想要高效的完成访学计划，当做出要出国访学的决定后，第一环节最重要的材料就是——申请信。
申请国外访问学者的第一步就是联系国外导师，申请人会准备一封cover letter申请信，又称自我推荐信、个人介绍信。通常大家会选择发送邮件，向意向导师表达想去对方团队或实验室学习交流的愿望，并获得对方的邀请信。这封申请邮件(Cover Letter)就相当于我们访问学者申请的敲门砖。虽然大多数申请者在专业英文写作方面有一定功底，但是对Cover Letter的写作要点却不甚清楚，进而导致很多申请邮件会石沉大海。
根据51访学网十余年的访问学者申请经验，我们提示申请者在写访问学者申请信时需要格外关注以下几个要点：
1.言简意赅
访问学者旨在促进教育、艺术、商业和科学等领域内人员的知识和技术交流，注重的是态度、内涵、个人实力，所以最好避免空洞华丽、字句敷衍的情况。在表达上切忌不能事无巨细，冗长繁琐。同时，在写访问学者申请信之前，一定要先了解未来导师的科研背景，以及最近在进行的科研活动。比较有用的办法是看publication里面submitted 或to appear的论文，有机会的话下载下来仔细研读。
2. 意图明确
申请信中的个人自我介绍、求职意愿表达、个人简历(附带)、请求给予回复、礼貌表达感激等几个要素缺一不可。同时还可以提及一下导师信息来源，如在某次国际会议，或某篇英文文章中得知导师的信息。
另外，写申请信的时候一定要注意清楚的表达出自己为什么对这个教授感兴趣(这个实验室为什么适合你)。自己学过些什么有什么技术/能力/成果。这些能力在这个教授手下能如何发挥(你为什么适合这个实验室)。
3.展示个人优势
近些年出国进修的访问学者越来越多，很多导师都会收到大量的申请信，那么如何才能从众多的申请者中脱颖而出呢?答案很简单——凸显自身的优势。出国作访问学者绝不仅仅是简单的镀金，能够达到申请者以及邀请方各取所长，资源共享，协作双赢，这才是国外导师所期待的交流合作。我们要明确我们能为对方做什么，如我们在项目研究中能提供哪些帮助，在调查合作中能带来哪些资源。
4.注重词句运用，表达正式优雅
访问学者的导师大多数都具有大学副教授以上职称，多年来从事专业上的教学及研究，每位导师均为博览全书的饱学之士，写作功底非凡。试想一下，一封内容详实，语句优美、文笔流畅的申请信往往会潜移默化地影响导师的第一印象，而良好的第一印象则是促使其打开简历，进一步沟通的前兆。
下面我们推荐一份可以参考的套磁教授成功率很高的申请信模板，但是切记一定不要滥用模板，只能重点参考在表述方面的技巧。注意用词是否恰当，把握句与句之间的逻辑关系，灵活应用连接词，适当增加各种从句、点睛词汇词组的使用，让整片文章显得更加正式、庄重且优雅。
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My fruitfull work has always ensured me top places in my department. I steadily remained in the top ten students. Following my passion, in 2000, majoring in XXX, I entered the Department of xxx University. I was ranked No.1 in my class for four consecutive years and had won scholarships every academic year. In June 2004, being an outstanding graduate, I also got an excellent score on my thesis project. Through substantial field survey, resource collection, careful experiment and data analysis, I find the best condition which has the quicker transparency and measurement．
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I will be a fulltime student studying in your group for two years. After finishing my program which will be set by both you and my supervisor, I will get my Ph.D. degree at xxx University. I believe that, if given the opportunity to work under your instruction. Would you please give me a chance to study in your lab. Feel free to contact me．
Thank you very much!
