brycewang-stanford/referee-response

Referee Response Assistant

Help structure and draft responses to referee reports. Ensures consistent formatting and comprehensive responses.

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Response Document Structure

RESPONSE TO REFEREE COMMENTS

Paper: [Title]
Authors: [Names]
Journal: [Journal Name]
Manuscript #: [Number]
Date: [Date]

We thank the editor and referees for their constructive comments.
We have carefully addressed all points raised. Below we provide
point-by-point responses. Referee comments are in italics, and
our responses follow in regular text. All page and line numbers
refer to the revised manuscript.

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RESPONSE TO EDITOR
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[Editor comments and responses]

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RESPONSE TO REFEREE 1
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[Point-by-point responses]

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RESPONSE TO REFEREE 2
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[Point-by-point responses]

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Point-by-Point Response Template

For each referee comment:

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Comment 1.X: [Brief label for reference]
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*[Paste exact referee comment in italics]*

RESPONSE:

[Your response here]

- What we did to address the comment
- Where changes appear in the manuscript (page X, lines Y-Z)
- If we added analysis, summarize the results
- If we respectfully disagree, explain why with evidence

CHANGES MADE:
- Page X: [Description of change]
- Table Y: [Description of new/modified table]
- Section Z: [Description of new text]

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Response Strategies by Comment Type

Data/Sample Questions

The referee raises an important point about [issue]. We have:
1. [Addressed concern directly]
2. Added robustness tests in Table X showing results hold when [alternative]
3. Discussed this limitation on page Y, lines Z

Identification Concerns

We appreciate this comment on identification. We address this in three ways:
1. Added [placebo test/IV/etc.] in Table X
2. Discussed the assumption more carefully in Section Y
3. Acknowledge remaining limitations on page Z

Requests for Additional Analysis

Thank you for this suggestion. We have added [analysis] in Table X / Figure Y.
The results show [brief summary]. This [strengthens/qualifies] our main findings.

Clarification Requests

We apologize for the lack of clarity. We have revised the text on page X
to clarify that [explanation]. The revised passage now reads:

"[Quote revised text]"

Disagreement (Respectful)

We appreciate this thoughtful comment. After careful consideration, we
respectfully maintain our original approach because:
1. [Reason 1 with evidence/citation]
2. [Reason 2]

However, we have added discussion of this alternative perspective on page X
and include [robustness test] in the appendix to address related concerns.

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Change Tracking Summary

Include at the end of your response:

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SUMMARY OF MAJOR CHANGES
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1. Added Table X: [Description]
2. Added Figure Y: [Description]
3. Revised Section Z to [description]
4. Added robustness tests for [list]
5. Expanded discussion of [topic] on pages A-B

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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS ADDED
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- Online Appendix Table A1: [Description]
- Online Appendix Figure A1: [Description]
- Replication package updated with [additions]

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Quick Commands

• "format referee response" - Set up response document structure
• "respond to this comment" - Draft response to a specific comment
• "disagreement response" - Help phrase respectful disagreement
• "summarize changes" - Generate changes summary from our edits
• "check completeness" - Verify all comments addressed

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Tone Guidelines

Do:

• Thank referees for specific insights
• Be concise but thorough
• Clearly indicate where changes were made
• Acknowledge valid limitations
• Cite supporting evidence for your choices

Don't:

• Be defensive or dismissive
• Ignore parts of comments
• Over-explain obvious points
• Promise future work instead of doing it now
• Leave any comment unaddressed

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Common Phrases

Agreeing:

• "We thank the referee for this excellent suggestion."
• "This is an important point that strengthens our analysis."
• "We have incorporated this suggestion as follows..."

Partial agreement:

• "We appreciate this comment. While [X], we have [Y]."
• "This is a valid concern. We address it by..."

Respectful disagreement:

• "We thank the referee for raising this issue. After careful consideration..."
• "We respectfully maintain our approach because..."
• "While we see the merit in this suggestion, we believe..."

Acknowledging limitations:

• "We acknowledge this limitation and have added discussion on page X."
• "While ideal data would allow [X], our approach is consistent with [citations]."

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Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting your response:

• [ ] Every comment has a response (numbered consistently)
• [ ] All page/line references are accurate for revised manuscript
• [ ] New tables/figures are referenced correctly
• [ ] Track changes document is prepared
• [ ] Clean version of manuscript is prepared
• [ ] Supplementary materials are updated
• [ ] Cover letter to editor is drafted
• [ ] Co-authors have reviewed responses