Is the phrase "You are requested" polite or rude?
Agree with you that, "You are requested" sounds inappropriate.
The internet has examples, such as:
https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/authorandreviewertutorials/submitting-to-a-journal-and-peer-review/cover-letters/10285574
Dear Editor-in-Chief, I am sending you our manuscript entitled “Large Scale Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulators in bladder cancer” by Researcher et al. We would like to have the manuscript considered for publication in....
https://wordvice.com/journal-submission-cover-letter/
e.g., I am writing to submit our manuscript entitled, “X Marks the Spot” for consideration as an Awesome Science Journal research article. We examined the efficacy of using X factors as indicators for depression in Y subjects in Z regions thro
It doesn't come across as polite or impolite, just odd. "You are requested to review" is unnecessarily passive voice, and implies that someone other than the author of the letter is requesting the review. If I received that letter, I wouldn’t be offended, but probably just amused by the awkwardness of that sentence.
Also, I don't believe it's true that the "Editor in chief... is much higher in rank and position, on the other hand, we are mere authors of the paper". I'm not sure why you're putting him/her on such a pedestal. This is a person in a completely different line of work than you or your supervisor, or at least he/she is functioning in a completely different capacity than you or your supervisor. Also, you're creating content for that journal - without you there'd be nothing to review or publish.
I think a better point-of-view would be to think of the editor as someone who has very limited time, but could also be excited about what you've done, and is interested in publishing high-quality work. Just be direct and polite (see bolded statement in my "letter" below).
Also, I assume you've left some text out of your question, but just to cover all bases, cover letters have common elements:
- The title of the work.
- What's great about the work.
- Why the work is perfect for the journal.
- Call to action - ask the editor to consider it for publication.
In this example, the author then asks the editor to be notified of the decision when it is made. Google for other examples, but most have these elements. Here's a similar construction that I wrote:
Dear Editor in Chief,
In the attached paper ([paper title]), we discovered [thing the paper describes]. We believe this is very exciting development in the field of [field]. This work is consistent with the aim an scope of [journal you're submitting to] and would be of general interest to your readership. We would like you to consider this manuscript for publication in [journal you're submitting to].
Thanks