Teaching Assistantship Cover Letter: 7 Complete Samples

Entry level: Discussion sections, first-year graduate student (189 words)

Dear Professor Alvarez and the Teaching Committee,

I am applying for a teaching assistantship in the Department of History for the coming academic year. I will begin the MA program this fall, and I would like to lead discussion sections for the survey courses.

As an undergraduate at Ohio State I was a peer tutor in the Writing Center for two years, working one to one with about 15 students a week on argument, structure and evidence. In my final year I led a weekly study group of eight first-year students for the American History survey and prepared a one-page guide of discussion questions for each session. I am used to listening for where a student has lost the thread and asking the next question instead of giving the answer.

I can also grade. I scored short-answer quizzes for a sociology course using a rubric the instructor supplied, and I returned them with written comments within one week.

I am available for every section time on Tuesday and Thursday, and I would welcome the chance to attend the department's TA training. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Maya Roberts

Entry level: Laboratory sections in chemistry (159 words)

Dear Dr. Nakamura,

I am writing to apply for a teaching assistantship in the General Chemistry laboratory at the University of Illinois. I have just finished a BS in Chemistry and I want to help first-year students feel safe and confident at the bench.

For two semesters I was an undergraduate lab assistant for the second-year organic course, setting up reagents for 24 students, checking glassware and goggles before each experiment and answering questions during the session. I wrote the pre-lab safety reminders for three experiments, and I know the department's procedures for spills and waste.

In my senior research project I wrote up my results in the format the department uses for lab reports, so I know what a clear report looks like and what students typically leave out. I would grade reports against the rubric and give written feedback within one week.

I am available for any lab block, including the Friday afternoon sections.

Sincerely, Daniel Kim

Entry level: Grader and tutor for introductory programming (151 words)

Dear Professor Okafor,

I am applying to be a teaching assistant for CS 101 in the spring semester. I am a second-year computer science student, and last semester I earned an A in the course, taught by Professor Chen.

I held weekly drop-in tutoring in the department's help room for eight hours a week, where I helped students debug Python programs and explained loops, functions and lists. I learned to ask the student to describe what the program should do before I looked at the code, because the bug is often in the plan and not the syntax.

I have graded two assignments for a peer-instruction course with a rubric, using the autograder output and reading code by hand for style and logic. I can hold office hours, run a review session before each exam and meet a weekly 45-minute grading deadline.

Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Aaliyah Johnson

Mid level: Writing course, experienced instructor and tutor (179 words)

Dear Professor Whitfield and members of the Composition Committee,

I am applying for a teaching assistantship in the First-Year Writing Program. I have taught English composition for two years at a community college and I am entering the PhD program in Rhetoric this fall.

At Lakeshore Community College I was the instructor of record for two sections of English 101, with 22 students each. I designed the syllabus, taught the three essay units and graded using a four-criteria rubric shared with students in advance. I held office hours three afternoons a week and ran a conference week where every student met with me for 15 minutes about a draft.

The part of the work I enjoy most is revision conferences, where a student who thought a paper was finished finds the argument underneath it. I would bring the same approach to your program, and I would also welcome the department's training on shared rubrics and norming sessions.

I am available for any section time and would be glad to observe a class before the term begins.

Sincerely, Rebecca Torres

Mid level: Head TA and statistics tutorials (166 words)

Dear Professor Lindqvist,

I am applying for the head teaching assistant position for STAT 200 in the fall term. I have been a TA for the course for three semesters, and I am a second-year PhD student in Biostatistics.

In my current role I run two tutorials of 30 students each, hold six office hours a week and grade problem sets on a rotating basis. In the spring I wrote practice problem sets for exam review and cut the average wait for graded homework from ten days to six by dividing grading among the TA team on a shared schedule.

As head TA I would coordinate grading across four TAs, run a short norming session before each exam and send a weekly summary to you of the questions students struggle with. I have used R in every tutorial and can support the course's R labs.

I would be glad to meet before the semester to set expectations for each part of the role.

Sincerely, Samuel Green

Mid level: Returning professional entering a teaching assistantship (164 words)

Dear Dr. Hassan,

I am applying for a teaching assistantship in the School of Nursing's undergraduate program. I am a registered nurse with six years in medical-surgical care, and I will start the MSN in Nursing Education in August.

On my unit I was the preceptor for new graduate nurses, supporting 11 nurses through orientation over four years. I taught them to run a bedside handover, write a care plan and prepare for night shifts, and I gave written feedback at the end of each block. I have also taught our hospital's annual medication safety refresher for about 40 colleagues.

I understand that a teaching assistant in a clinical program supports faculty with skills labs, simulation sessions and grading, and I would be glad to take any of those. I am used to teaching with a checklist and to giving feedback that students can act on the same day.

I am available for daytime lab sessions on any day except Wednesday.

Sincerely, Linda Park

Senior: Doctoral candidate applying for a lead teaching fellowship (174 words)

Dear Professor Bergstrom and the Fellowship Committee,

I am applying for a Lead Teaching Fellowship in the Department of Economics. I am a fifth-year PhD candidate with seven semesters of experience as a teaching assistant, and I would like to support and train first-time TAs while continuing to teach.

I have been a TA for Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics and Econometrics, leading recitation sections of up to 35 students, grading problem sets and exams, and holding weekly review sessions. In 2025 I received the department's Outstanding TA award on the basis of student evaluations, and I redesigned the Econometrics recitation around weekly data exercises.

As a lead fellow I would run the orientation session for incoming TAs, observe two sections per term and give written feedback, and hold a short calibration meeting before each exam. I have completed the university's teaching certificate program through the Center for Teaching, which included videotaped microteaching and a teaching portfolio.

I would welcome a conversation about how I can support the department's teaching mission.

Sincerely, Michael Evans