How Do Experts Read Application Letters? A Multi-Modal Study

Fourteen faculty participants each read two letters of application to a graduate program, and the data about how they read was collected using eye-tracking and think-aloud protocol. The eyetracking data show that expert readers not only "slow down" when they encounter grammatical and other errors, but also when they see words and phrases that match their program's mission or their own research interests. The think-aloud protocol data was used to verify eye-tracking results and also to allow for readers to expand on their impressions of the persuasiveness of a given letter. The project is not finished, but early impressions are that something akin to Kenneth Burke's concept of identification is a powerfully persuasive move in such letters-readers' eyes fixate on these identification moves and the participants identify those moves as positive and persuasive.