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I have to write an official letter to a professor to explain my research interests and my research plan to him, so that he could evaluate my eligibility for support through a research assistantship.

would you please say which of the following sentences is better in order to finish my letter:

I hope this helps. If you need further information, Please feel free to contact me at: My email

I hope this helps you evaluate my eligibility for financial aid better.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you need more information.

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    Why would a professor be evaluating your eligibility for financial aid? Or do you mean to say that you would be offered financial support (which is different from financial aid, in that support is offered independently of your current financial circumstances and ability to pay)?
    – aeismail
    Commented May 24, 2014 at 20:41
  • I would be offered Research Assistantship.
    – Potential Scientist
    Commented May 24, 2014 at 20:44
  • 5
    I vote for (3). If you are sending this as an e-mail, there is little point in writing your address again in the body.
    – Federico Poloni
    Commented May 24, 2014 at 21:13
  • 8
    I would imagine that what you say before your last sentence will be most important for stating your case for a RA position.
    – Mad Jack
    Commented May 24, 2014 at 21:16
  • 3
    "I beg to remain, Sir, your most humble and obedient servant."
    – JeffE
    Commented May 27, 2014 at 5:04

3 Answers 3

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As user11192 says, the closing sentence does not matter much. I'd advise you to focus on proofreading your entire letter. Not to be unkind, but there are typographical mistakes in two of your three closings:

I hope this helps. If you need further information, Please feel free to contact me at: My email

The first letter in "Please" should not be capitalized.

I hope this helps you evaluate my eligibility for financial aid better.

This is fine, except, as aeismail points out, financial aid is need-based, while you are applying for a job, which is presumably merit-based.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you need more information.

This is a comma splice.

In a closing, I would also thank the professor for his/her time:

Please let me know if any further information would be helpful. Thank you for your time.

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I think this is not important as long as he think you are eligible for his RA. The important thing is to show him that you have the ability to do research.

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I would just say"Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Should you need additional information, do not hesitate to contact me at ... (phone, e-mail, whatever). Yours, (your name)". "I hope this helps" sounds like it is you, who are doing him a favor by sending him all that stuff to read, which is hardly the case. On the other hand, I'm not a native English speaker, so take all I said with a grain of salt. And yeah, the outcome depends much more on what is in your explanation than on how the ending passage is constructed.

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  • Indeed. "I hope this helps" is usually what I put at the end of an email where I've answered a question. "Thank you" is what I put if I'm asking for something. This case sounds more like the latter.
    – Matthew Leingang
    Commented Dec 12, 2014 at 17:57

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