Contents
Academy · Concepts & Definitions · Responding to reviewers (workshop)
Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter
A recording of this workshop will be added once a cohort has completed it. This written session plan works through a real set of reviewer comments as a group, with the rebuttal drafted live.
This session is built around a participant’s own set of reviewer comments. The group triages the comments by type, drafts responses live for a representative sample, and concludes with both a completed rebuttal letter structure and a shared understanding of how to address the remaining comments independently.
Learning objectives
- How the session uses a real comment set rather than a hypothetical example.
- Which responses are drafted live during the session and which are assigned as follow-up.
- How the group triage process operates in practice.
Common misconceptions
- “A workshop on responding to reviewers works as well with a hypothetical example as with a real comment set.” Working with a participant’s actual, current review is what makes the live-drafting component of the session useful; a hypothetical example can illustrate structure but cannot reveal the specific judgements that a real comment set requires.
Group triage of the reviewer comment set
The session opens with a group triage of the participant’s actual reviewer comments, sorting them into requests for new analysis, requests for clarification or rewording, and points of possible disagreement. The group discusses openly why each comment belongs in its category, which brings differing initial readings of ambiguous comments to light before any drafting begins.
Live drafting of responses to individual comments
For a representative sample of comments (one from each category identified in triage), the group drafts the response live: restating the comment, agreeing on the substantive response, and drafting the specific wording together. For any point of disagreement, this includes determining how to substantiate the position respectfully and specifically rather than dismissively.
Follow-up tasks
The remaining comments, which are not drafted live owing to time constraints, are assigned to the participant to complete independently, using the live-drafted examples as a template for structure and tone, with a specified follow-up point at which the completed draft is reviewed before it is finalised and submitted.
Session recording
A recording of a live run of this session, with identifying manuscript details removed, will be added above once a cohort has run.
Key points
Key points
Working with a real, current comment set rather than a hypothetical example is what makes the triage and live-drafting components of this session useful: a representative sample is drafted together, and the remaining comments are completed independently using that work as a template.
Practical application
Practical application
- Bring the current reviewer comment set to the session. A hypothetical example can demonstrate structure but cannot reveal the judgements that a specific comment set requires.
- Use the comments drafted live as a template for tone and structure in the remaining responses. This avoids drafting the remaining responses independently from the beginning.
- Schedule a specific follow-up meeting to review the completed draft. The review should take place before the letter is finalised and submitted, to identify any departure from the approach agreed in the session.
Frequently asked questions
It is suitable for either. The triage and drafting approach applies in the same way to a first or a subsequent revision round.
The live-drafting format is most effective when focused on one real comment set per session, which allows sufficient time for genuine group discussion of each comment.
This session focuses on the response and rebuttal itself; next steps following an unfavourable subsequent decision would be addressed separately.
References
- Wiley Author Services. Peer review process and timeline. read 10 October 2026. View Wiley Author Services guidance
Every source above is a peer-reviewed article, a publisher’s record of one, or a standard issued by the body that owns it. Each carries the date it was last read. Where a standard moves, this article is revised rather than left up with a note.
How to cite this article
Pick your referencing style and copy it. Your university or target journal may vary the punctuation — check its guide if it has one.
Pubrica Academy. (2026, October 10). Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter. Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/
Pubrica Academy. “Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter.” Pubrica, 10 Oct. 2026, pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/.
Pubrica Academy (2026) Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter. Pubrica. Available at: https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/ (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
Pubrica Academy. “Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter.” Pubrica. October 10, 2026. https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/
Pubrica Academy, ‘Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter’ (Pubrica, 10 October 2026) <https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/> accessed 15 October 2026.
Pubrica Academy. Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter. [Internet]. Pubrica; 2026 Oct 10 [cited 2026 Oct 15]. Available from: https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/
Pubrica Academy, “Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter,” Pubrica, Oct. 10, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/
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title = {Responding to Reviewers: A Workshop Based on Live Drafting of a Rebuttal Letter},
howpublished = {Pubrica},
year = {2026},
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url = {https://pubrica.com/academy/workshop-guides/responding-to-reviewers-workshop/},
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}This article is written to be learned from. Cite it if you are referring to what it says; if you are using the evidence behind it, cite the sources listed above instead.
Session structure
Built around the actual comment set of one participant.
1. Group triage of the full comment set (type: analysis / clarification / disagreement) 2. Live drafting of a representative sample, one per category 3. Remaining comments assigned as follow-up, using live-drafted examples as a template 4. Follow-up check-in scheduled to review the completed draft before submission
Pubrica AcademyWritten and maintained by Pubrica’s subject matter experts. Articles are revised when the underlying standards change, and each article states the date on which it was last reviewed.
How Pubrica can help
Pubrica delivers this session for authors undertaking a revision round, drafting a working template live and supporting completion of the full rebuttal letter.