Examples of Confidential Comments to Editor
Example 1. The topic is timely and will be of interest to the readers of the journal. However, the
manuscript is very poorly written and the ideas do not flow logically. The review of the
literature is not thorough so the reader is not given an adequate background about the topic.
Example 2. It is obvious by reading the paper that it was written by more than one author. The
writing style changes significantly about half way through the manuscript. Numerous statements
are made that reflect the authors’ opinion but they are portrayed as fact with no references cited.
Example 3. This is clearly a student’s paper. Although it is adequately written, it offers no new
information and no new slant on the topic. Most of the content in the manuscript is well known
by the readers of the journal. Do you publish student papers that offer no real new information?
Example 4. The authors have violated the methodological principles used in their study. They
have selected the wrong statistical tests to analyze the data. Therefore, the conclusions that the
authors make are erroneous. These fatal flaws make the manuscript unable to be revised or
published. The authors will have to start over with their study.
Writing for Professional Journals University of Utah