Writing Guide

How to Respond to Reviewer Comments

Turn peer review feedback into a successful revision. Templates, examples, and strategies for every type of comment.

The Right Mindset

Reviewers are your allies, not adversaries. They've spent hours reading your work and want to help you make it better. Even harsh criticism usually comes from a place of wanting rigorous science. Take a day to process emotional reactions before responding.

Response Letter Format

Standard Response Letter Template
Most journals expect responses in this general format
Dear Editor and Reviewers,

We thank the editor and reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive feedback on our manuscript "[TITLE]" (Manuscript ID: XXXX). We have carefully considered all comments and have revised the manuscript accordingly. Below, we provide point-by-point responses to each comment. Reviewer comments are in **bold**, and our responses follow in regular text. All page and line numbers refer to the revised manuscript with track changes.

---

## REVIEWER 1

**Comment 1.1: [Quote the full comment]**

[Your response]

**Comment 1.2: [Quote the full comment]**

[Your response]

---

## REVIEWER 2

**Comment 2.1: [Quote the full comment]**

[Your response]

---

We believe these revisions have substantially strengthened the manuscript and hope it is now suitable for publication in [Journal Name].

Sincerely,
[Authors]

Response Strategies

Agree and Change
When to use: The reviewer is right, and you can improve the paper

Template:

We thank the reviewer for this insightful suggestion. We have [specific change made]. The revised text now reads: "[quote new text]" (page X, lines Y-Z).

Example:

We thank the reviewer for this insightful observation. We have added a paragraph discussing the limitations of our sample size. The revised text now reads: "While our sample of 150 participants provides adequate power for the primary analyses, future work with larger samples would enable examination of subgroup effects." (page 12, lines 8-11).
Agree Partially and Explain
When to use: The reviewer has a point, but you can only partially address it

Template:

We appreciate this comment. While [acknowledge valid point], we [explain limitation/partial solution]. We have [what you changed] and added a note in the limitations section.

Example:

We appreciate this comment regarding additional control conditions. While a placebo control would strengthen causal inference, resource constraints prevented its inclusion in the current study. We have added this as a limitation (page 15) and noted it as a direction for future research.
Respectfully Disagree
When to use: You believe the reviewer is mistaken or the change would weaken the paper

Template:

We thank the reviewer for raising this point. We respectfully maintain our original approach because [specific reasons with evidence/citations]. However, we have [small concession or clarification made].

Example:

We thank the reviewer for raising this concern about our statistical approach. We respectfully maintain our use of mixed-effects models because they appropriately handle the nested structure of our data and are robust to the missing data patterns observed (Little & Rubin, 2019). However, we have added a supplementary analysis using the reviewer's suggested approach, which yields similar results (Supplementary Table S3).
Ask for Clarification (Rare)
When to use: You genuinely don't understand what the reviewer wants

Template:

We want to ensure we address this comment fully. Could the reviewer please clarify [specific aspect]? In the meantime, we have [attempted change based on interpretation].

Example:

We want to ensure we address this comment fully. The reviewer mentions "additional validation," but we're uncertain whether this refers to external validation with new data or additional internal validation analyses. We have added both cross-validation results (Table 4) and a discussion of external validation as future work (page 14).

Do's and Don'ts

Do
  • Thank reviewers for their time and feedback
  • Address every single comment, even minor ones
  • Quote specific changes with page/line numbers
  • Be specific about what you changed and where
  • Provide evidence when disagreeing (citations, data)
  • Keep a professional, grateful tone throughout
  • Number your responses to match reviewer comments
  • Use formatting to make responses easy to navigate
Don't
  • Never be defensive, dismissive, or rude
  • Don't ignore comments you disagree with
  • Don't make vague responses ('We have improved this')
  • Don't blame reviewers for misunderstanding
  • Don't make changes without explaining them
  • Don't submit without addressing all comments
  • Don't copy-paste generic responses
  • Don't argue about matters of opinion or style

Handling Difficult Situations

Conflicting reviewer opinions

When reviewers disagree, acknowledge both perspectives and explain your choice. You might write: "We note that Reviewers 1 and 2 have different views on [issue]. After careful consideration, we have [your decision] because [reasoning]. We have addressed Reviewer 2's concern by [alternative accommodation]."

Requests for impossible experiments

If a reviewer asks for something you truly cannot do (new data collection, access to unavailable resources), explain why clearly and offer alternatives: "While we cannot collect additional data due to [reason], we have [alternative analysis] and discuss this limitation explicitly in the revised manuscript."

Unfair or hostile reviews

Stay professional. Address the substance, not the tone. If you believe a review is inappropriate, you can note concerns in your cover letter to the editor—but focus on specific issues, not complaints about fairness.

Before Submitting Your Revision

  • Every comment has a numbered response
  • Changes are quoted with page/line numbers
  • The response letter is professionally formatted
  • Track changes are enabled in the manuscript
  • You've re-read the revised paper for coherence
  • Co-authors have reviewed the responses
  • Supplementary materials are updated if needed
  • The cover letter to the editor is prepared

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How to Respond to Reviewer Comments (With Examples) | TypeTeX | TypeTeX