I'm interested in studying economic geology for Fall 2017. I have decent grades, GRE scores and letters of recommendation. I also have a strong background in teaching/research and should be published in Economic Geology soon. However, my primary drawback is that the economic geology professor at our school is a brutal grader and even though I was very passionate about the class, I received a C+ in his course. I want to continue my studies in economic geology, but I suspect that this will be a big warning flag to admissions committees
Should I address this problem in my letter of interest? How can I best explain this negative grade?