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3 years ago in Peer Review By Payal G

How should I respond to a reviewer who clearly misunderstood a major part of my paper?

I got a "revise and resubmit" decision, but one reviewer's critique is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of my core argument. How do I correct this without sounding defensive or insulting the reviewer's intelligence?

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By Shabir Ahmed Answered 1 year ago

Never say "the reviewer misunderstood." Instead, frame it as your failure to explain clearly. In your response letter, write: "We thank the reviewer for this comment, which highlights an area where our manuscript lacked clarity. To address this, we have revised the text in Section X (lines Y-Z) to better articulate that [restate your core point more clearly]. We have also added a clarifying sentence in the discussion (lines A-B) and hope this now resolves any potential confusion." Then, make the corresponding changes in the manuscript. This approach validates the reviewer's effort, demonstrates you've engaged constructively, and improves the paper. The goal is to make the reviewer feel heard and to use their feedback—even if rooted in a misunderstanding—as a catalyst to enhance the clarity and robustness of your writing.

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