{"id":142,"date":"2022-02-25T18:06:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T18:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afzalbadshah.wordpress.com\/2022\/02\/25\/what-do-i-look-for-in-a-response-letter-as-a-reviewer\/"},"modified":"2023-08-19T17:00:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T12:00:45","slug":"what-do-i-look-for-in-a-response-letter-as-a-reviewer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afzalbadshah.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/what-do-i-look-for-in-a-response-letter-as-a-reviewer\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do I Look for in a Response Letter as a Reviewer? Introducing Response Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A step-by-step guide for structuring the reviewer\u2019s response letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The research article submitted to the journal goes through several phases. In the first, the editorials evaluate it for different types of queries, for example, the novelty of the idea, the structure of the article and in particular the language of the article. If all goes well, it is decided to review it. However, on the editorial side usually, half of the articles are rejected by reputable journals and half of them are sent for review. Article\u2019s rejection by the editorial board is called desk rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Paper rejected by the editorial board, before sending it for reviewers are called desk rejection. About half of the manuscripts submitted to prominent journals are rejected.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

More than two reviewers (with relevant experience) are chosen to assess the paper for various technical details. Each journal has its own review procedure; some respond in six to eight weeks, while some take five to six months or longer. This show that the author have to wait for a long time to get any response from the journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The most common reasons for desk rejection are poor language, poor organisation, and a non-novel idea.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Manuscript decisions options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The editorial board has four options for responding to the authors after the reviewers have replied to the editor. Here are these possibilities,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Accept the paper in the current form, however, this rarely happens. No changes are needed and the paper is published in the current form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The second is the minor revision, the reviewer suggests some minor changes, which authors incorporate in one or two weeks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The third option is the major revision. For this decision, authors usually revise the major part of the article. Editorial usually give more than one month to incorporate these changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The fourth one is rejection. Journal does not accept the resubmission of this article.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Some journals respond within weeks while some take months in initial response.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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    Photo by mali maeder<\/a> from Pexels<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Major or minor revision does not guarantee acceptance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Minor or major revision means your article is considered for publication if the reviewer\u2019s concerns are properly addressed. It is not an acceptance, it is a chance offered to the authors to improve the quality of the article. Many papers are rejected after the first review, so authors need to take this seriously to meet the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you want to publish your paper in this journal and avoid having to restart the review cycle for months, you must work on improving the paper according to the reviewer and editor\u2019s instructions. Editors and reviewers volunteered their time and effort to examine your paper. Every reviewer\u2019s section must explicitly mention the \u201cthank you message\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Thank you to the editor and reviewers who volunteered their time to help improve your article.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Reading editor and reviewer comments for the first time frustrates all authors. But don\u2019t worry, each author has the same feelings. Go through every comment and suggestion without keeping in mind whether you can respond to it or not. Once you\u2019ve reached all the points, set them aside and relax. Don\u2019t start responding immediately. You would not be able to respond smoothly and could distract reviewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Once you reached all the points, set it aside and relax. Don\u2019t start responding immediately.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019re relaxed (in fact, your mind is searching for solutions in the background), create a mind map in your mind that how you\u2019re going to respond to those comments. After relaxing, you\u2019ll definitely be in a good position to answer accurately or work on your manuscript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Before starting working on the manuscript, create a mindmap to respond to the reviewers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Once you have created a mind map, all you need to do is to sit and copy your mind map into the response letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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