ACM International Science Editing Service

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Editing Services
      • Standard Editing
      • Premium Editing
    • Submission Support Services
      • Graphing
      • Custom Illustration
      • Figure Formatting
      • Journal Specific Formatting
      • Manuscript Review
      • Response to Reviewers
      • Cover Letter Writing
    • Promote your research
    • Translation
  • Create Your Order
    • Editing Services
    • Promote your research
  • Payment
  • Information for Authors
  • Resources
    • ACM:Latest News
    • Writing Tips
      • Manuscript Preparation
      • Overleaf
      • Journal Selection
      • Submit an Article
      • Peer-Review
      • Publication Ethics
      • Research Promotion
      • Abstracts
      • Cover Letters
      • Request for Revision
  • Customer Service
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Terms of Service
      • Privacy Policy
      • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives / Request for revision – be polite

September 14, 2016 By Teresa Nolan

Request for revision – be polite

Remember that you are dealing with people, not just a faceless submission system. The Editor-in-Chief and the reviewers are just like you—they have feelings, likes and dislikes, and many other
calls on their time. They are not infallible, but offer their comments to help you to improve your paper.

Thank the Editor/reviewer for their comments, and respond with courtesy to each one.
Tips for considering the reviewerRequest for revision - be polite
The reviewer is busy

  • Reviewers are not paid. They have their own research and teaching to do. They agree to review papers as a service to science.
  • That means they offer their expertise to you for no reward.
  • Maybe he didn’t have time to write his comments carefully.
  • If he misunderstood your paper, respond tactfully. Perhaps it’s an indication that you did not make your meaning clear.

The reviewer has his own character, culture, and quirks

  • Every reviewer is an individual. Some are kind, some are critical, some are argumentative.
  • Every culture has its own characteristics too. Perhaps the reviewer comes from a culture that prides itself in being direct.
  • What ever the case, do not take it personally. Most journals operate a blind review process, so the reviewer does not even know who you are.

The reviewer might not write in good English

  • It’s annoying if his comments are badly written. Especially annoying if he has criticised your English!
  • Remember that many of the journal’s readers will also not have good English. Therefore aim to write in simple, clear English as far as possible. Don’t use complicated English just to show off your English skills.

The reviewer might not be an expert in your precise area of study

  • So why did he accept the invitation to review? Well, perhaps he was flattered by the invitation. Or he wanted to gain favour with the Editor-in-Chief. Or he felt it his duty.
  • Often the Editor-in-Chief will find it difficult to find enough reviewers for an article, especially if it is a narrow field of study.
  • Many reviewers reject the offer to review, so you should always be grateful to those who are willing, no matter how harsh they appear.

In summary: the reviewer is a busy researcher who offers his time and expertise to ensure the best papers get published by offering advice on improving your paper. He is not infallible, nor is he an expert in everything. The Editor-in-Chief invited him to review, and therefore expects you to respond to the reviewers comments. Therefore, be tactful, be appreciative, be factual, and above all, don’t take comments personally.

Back to Handling a Request for Revision 

Filed Under: Archives, Author's Resources, For Authors, Peer-Review, Request for Revision Tagged With: be polite, research and revision, reviewers, revision, revision request

ACM中国作者语言润色服务

ACM Chinese Author Language Editing Service homepage 国际科学编辑(ISE)已正式与国际计算机协会(ACM)合作为想要投稿到ACM的作者提供专业服务。

Para autores ACM do Brasil

ACM-brazil Se você quiser ver os nossos serviços para autores ACM em Português, clique aqui para visitar o nosso site.

भारतीय लेखकों के लिए सेवाएं

acm-desktopcta-(4) एसोसिएशन फॉर कंप्यूटिंग मशीनरी (एसीएम) के साथ प्रकाशित करने के लिए देख रहे हैं लेखकों को एक समर्पित सेवा प्रदान करने के लिए इंटरनेशनल साइंस एडिटिंग ने एसीएम के साथ भागीदारी की है।

日本からのACM著者

Japanese link 国際科学編集者(ISE)は国際コンピューター協会(ACM)と正式に提携し、ACMへ投稿する作者に専門的なサービスを提供します。

International Science Editing’s Writing Tips

Verb tenses in scientific manuscripts

A key aspect of producing a well-written scientific manuscript worthy of publication is the use of appropriate verb tenses in the different sections of the manuscript. In this infographic, we discuss when, where, and how to use the different verb tenses. The infographic contains the following text: Title Titles are often not complete sentences, i.e., […]

Copyright © 2025 · INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE EDITING · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

We’ve updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. These updates address new privacy regulations in Europe and apply to everyone who uses International Science Editing including clients, authors and partners.
Click on Settings to view the list of cookies, the different category headings, and/or change the default settings. Please click on “Accept” to continue to use International Science Editing Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT