Letter Rebuttle to Incorrect Boss Review of Concern
How to write a great rebuttal letter
Key takeaways:
- Most manuscripts have to be revised at least once before they are accepted by a journal.
- At the revise and resubmit stage, a good rebuttal letter with clear and confident responses to each of the peer reviewer comments is crucial to ensure that your paper gets accustomed.
- A rebuttal alphabetic character should be framed politely and should include point-past-point responses to the reviewer comments, even if you lot happen to disagree with them or are not able to comprise all the suggested feedback.
- Learn how to compose and structure a rebuttal letter that volition convince the journal editor in favor of accepting your manuscript.
Most manuscripts take to exist revised at least once earlier they are accepted by a journal. This holds true despite the fact that, for the most part, authors and researchers exert a peachy deal of endeavor and diligence towards drafting their manuscript. The apprehension period for most authors, every bit they await feedback from a periodical, is marked by an unpredictable concoction of excitement and anxiety.
Regardless of the writer'due south expectations or subsequent reactions to reviewer comments, authors are required to follow certain protocol with respect to responding to such feedback. During this stage of publication, authors tend to be faced with the problem of how to write a rebuttal letter.
Once the author receives a determination for acceptance with major or pocket-size revisions, he/she has to revise the manuscript based on the peer reviewer comments. The revised manuscript is then submitted to the periodical forth with a point-by-point response to the reviewer comments. A cover alphabetic character for a revised manuscript should be sent to the editor along with the author's responses to the reviewer comments. This letter of the alphabet is often called the response alphabetic character or the rebuttal letter.
It is important to compose a good response letter to back-trail the revised manuscript. A response letter or rebuttal letter tin be written in two ways:
1. Y'all write a comprehend letter and attach a separate document in which you have addressed the reviewer comments.
ii. Alternatively, your rebuttal letter of the alphabet can be divided into two sections: an introductory part addressed to the journal editor and a second role containing detailed responses to the reviewer comments.
Begin the alphabetic character by mentioning the manuscript title and id. Include a small-scale paragraph thanking the reviewers for their valuable fourth dimension and useful contribution. Mention that you appreciate the inputs they take given and that their inputs will definitely help improve your manuscript. Rebuttal messages that give thanks the referees set a positive tone right from the starting time.
If you are including your responses in a separate certificate, add a paragraph that broadly summarizes the major changes that y'all have fabricated in the manuscript based on the reviewers' comments. Mention that yous take attached a document containing point-by-point responses to the reviewers' comments. If you lot are including the detailed responses in the same letter, mention that the next section contains your responses.
Addressing reviewer comments can be a hard task, especially, if there are many comments and the comments are long. Here are a few things to keep in heed when addressing reviewer comments:
i. Address each and every point raised by the editor and reviewers: Copy every single comment in your rebuttal letter and write your reply immediately afterwards each bespeak in a clear and concise manner. Make sure that not a single point raised past the reviewers/editor goes unanswered. Even if you do not concur with a point or have not made the change suggested, please mention that and provide a reason for your decision.
ii. Provide betoken-by-indicate responses: Number the reviewers' points and respond to them sequentially. Highlight the corresponding changes in the manuscript or refer to the line numbers in the original and revised manuscripts. Consider setting the reviewer comments in bold to distinguish them from your responses. This makes information technology easier for the editor/reviewers to follow what you have done.
3. Categorize the reviewers' comments: If there are besides many comments, it would aid if you separate the comments into categories. For example, all the comments related to methodology could be grouped together, all related to linguistic communication could exist nether one category, etc. If y'all decide to do that, brand sure y'all add a sentence such as "I have separated my responses to the reviewers' comments according to several categories in club to achieve an integrated approach in my responses."
iv. If comments are in the form of paragraphs, split them into points: If the reviewers' comments are in the form of large paragraphs, divide them into dissever points so that yous can address them individually. If you are non sure of what a particular comment means, begin your response by explaining what you have understood from the comment.
5. In instance you feel the reviewer has misunderstood something, clarify politely: Reviewers are experts who have extensive knowledge of their field; therefore, if you lot experience that a reviewer has misunderstood certain parts, it is likely to be due to lack of clarity in your presentation. In such cases, point out the misunderstanding politely and provide the necessary clarification. For case, you could write: "I am sorry that this office was not clear in the original manuscript. I should have explained that….I accept revised the contents of this function."
6. If you lot cannot accost a betoken, give a reason: If yous cannot address any of the reviewers' concerns, explicate why y'all cannot exercise it, for instance, if the reviewer has asked y'all to provide additional information or conduct boosted experiments, which you feel are non necessary. Avoid giving personal reasons similar lack of funds or lack of fourth dimension as reasons. Practise not testify a negative mental attitude. Be respectful in your reply. First, thank the reviewer for his/her in-depth analysis and useful comments. And so, explicate where you lot feel you cannot completely concur with the reviewer's suggestion. Your answer should be clear and logical and should be backed past evidence.
seven. When adding new data or figures, mention their location in the manuscript: If you accept included new data, tables, figures, etc., signal where yous accept added the data: mention page numbers, effigy panels, etc. If required, adhere supplementary textile then that the reviewer/editor has everything that he/she needs and does not take to go searching for the textile.
8. Maintain a polite and respectful tone throughout: Remember that the reviewers have spent a lot of fourth dimension and endeavour in evaluating your manuscript. Even if some of the comments appear to exist negative, do not have them personally. The reviewers are critiquing your work, not y'all, and their inputs are valuable additions to your piece of work. Be polite and respectful in your tone even if y'all feel that some of the comments are unfavorable or unreasonable. Sometimes some reviewers may have conflicting views. But remember that each of them will read your rebuttal letter, then it is best to be as polite to all the reviewers. The tone of the cover letter is very important.
9. Conclude the letter appropriately: Be careful of how you finish the rebuttal letter. A concluding judgement such every bit the post-obit may sound overly conceited: "Since all the corrections take been made, we promise the manuscript will now be accustomed without any further changes." A straightforward but polite ending would be "We look forwards to hearing from you regarding our submission. We would be glad to reply to whatever farther questions and comments that you may accept." Such an ending is formal, polite, and reflects a willingness to make further changes if required.
You might as well be interested in reading the following related articles:
- Do's and don'ts for responding to peer reviewers' comments
- Tips for authors submitting a revised manuscript
- Writing an effective cover letter for periodical submission
A template for responding to peer reviewer comments_0_0.docx
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Published on: Nov xi, 2014
Source: https://www.editage.com/insights/how-to-write-a-great-rebuttal-letter