Receiving reviewer comments on your first journal submission can feel overwhelming, especially when the decision is “major revisions”. The good news is that a revise-and-resubmit decision is an invitation. Editors ask for revisions when they see potential, and a clear, respectful response letter greatly improves your chances of acceptance. Here is how to handle it.
Step 1: Read, pause, then read again
Read the decision letter and all comments once, then put them aside for a day. Critical comments are easier to assess calmly on a second reading. On that second reading, note the deadline and anything the editor highlights as essential.
Step 2: Organise every comment
Copy all comments into a table with these columns:
- Reviewer and comment number
- The comment, quoted in full
- Type: minor (wording, formatting), moderate (clarification, additional references) or major (new analysis, design concerns)
- Your planned action
- Where the change appears in the manuscript
This table becomes the skeleton of your response letter and helps you share work between co-authors.
Step 3: Decide how to respond to each comment
For each comment you have three options:
- Accept and revise. This should be your default. Most comments improve the paper.
- Partly accept. Make a change that addresses the underlying concern, even if not exactly in the way the reviewer suggested.
- Respectfully disagree. This is acceptable when you have good reasons. Explain your reasoning with evidence or citations, and if possible still clarify the manuscript so future readers do not have the same concern.
Never ignore a comment. Unanswered points are one of the most common reasons for a second round of revisions or a rejection.
Step 4: Revise the manuscript
Make the changes with track changes switched on, or highlight revised text in colour if the journal asks for that. Keep a clean version too, since many journals ask for both. If reviewers asked for additional analysis, report it fully and check that it does not create inconsistencies elsewhere in the paper.
Step 5: Write the response letter
A strong response letter is polite, specific and easy to check. Structure it like this:
- A short opening thanking the editor and reviewers.
- A brief summary of the main changes.
- Each reviewer’s comments in order, with your response directly under each one and the exact location of the change (page and line numbers or section).
Response letter template
Dear Dr [Editor’s name],
Thank you for the opportunity to revise our manuscript, “[Title]” (Manuscript ID [number]), for [Journal name]. We are grateful to the reviewers for their constructive comments, which have helped us improve the paper considerably. Below we respond to each comment in turn. Reviewer comments are shown in bold, and changes to the manuscript are marked in blue.
Reviewer 1, Comment 1: [Quote the comment in full.]
Response: Thank you for this helpful suggestion. We have [describe the change]. This change appears in Section 3.2, page 9, lines 14 to 22.
Reviewer 1, Comment 2: [Quote the comment.]
Response: We appreciate the reviewer’s point. However, we have retained [the original approach] because [reason, supported by citation]. To make this clearer to readers, we have added an explanation in Section 4.1, page 12, lines 3 to 8.
We hope that the revised manuscript is now suitable for publication in [Journal name].
Yours sincerely,
[Name], on behalf of all authors
Tone: firm but courteous
- Thank reviewers for their time, but do not overdo it in every response.
- Avoid defensive language such as “the reviewer misunderstood”. Write instead: “We have clarified this point to avoid misunderstanding.”
- If two reviewers contradict each other, explain how you resolved it and, if needed, ask the editor for guidance.
Final checklist before resubmitting
- Every comment has a response and a location.
- Page and line numbers match the final revised file.
- New references are added to the reference list.
- The abstract and conclusion still reflect any changed results.
- Word count, formatting and file requirements follow the author guidelines.
- You submit before the deadline, or request an extension early if you need one.
If you are facing a difficult set of reviews, our publication support team can help you plan revisions, strengthen your analysis and write a clear, persuasive response letter.