domains / families / research / wp-rebuttal

wp-rebuttal

separate

Use when writing the response to a World Politics revise-and-resubmit. World Politics suggests author response memos not exceed about five pages single-spaced, and revised articles may exceed the word limit only when growth results from responding to reviewers; the response must convert each anonymous reviewer while keeping the editors confident. Structures the response; it does not fabricate new results.

When to use

• planning the revision and response memo
• reconciling demands from disagreeing reviewers
• responding to requests for analyses or cases
• managing memo length to stay under five pages
• triaging reviewer demands to concede, rebut, or reconcile
• protecting the paper's cross-case logic and scope conditions

When not to use

• fabricating new results
• re-deriving the paper in the letter
• ignoring or merging away comments without visible response
• capitulating to requests that break cross-case logic
• using defensive or dismissive tone toward reviewers

Skill page

Source