Respond to reviewer comments without losing your paper
1 min read · Updated 11 Oct 2026
"Major revision" is good news: the editor wants the paper, if you answer the reviewers well.
Read, wait a day, then plan
Read all comments once, then leave them for a day. Sort them into: quick fixes, extra analysis or experiments, and comments you disagree with.
A response-letter format editors like
Address every comment, in order, using three parts:
Reviewer 1, Comment 3: The authors should compare with method X.
Response: Thank you for the suggestion. We have added a comparison with method X in Table 4. Our method improves accuracy by 3.2% while using half the training time.
Change in manuscript: Section 4.2, page 9, lines 210–224 (highlighted).
When you disagree
Be polite and give evidence. Explain why, cite sources, and if possible add a sentence to the paper that clarifies the point, so the reviewer sees you took it seriously.
Checklist before resubmitting
- Every comment has a response, even small ones.
- Changes are highlighted in the revised manuscript.
- Page and line numbers in the letter match the revised file.
- Figures, tables and references are renumbered correctly.
- The tone is respectful throughout.