Reviewers' comments: constructive and clear

The reviewer`s task is not just to write a review of a paper, but to give specific and clear recommendations to the author, constructive criticism (if necessary) without offending the author.

Let us consider some examples of phrases and expressions that will help you, as a reviewer, to formulate precise comments that will be useful to both the author and the editor of the paper in making a decision.

Positive comments:

"The manuscript is written in an engaging and lively style".

"The level of research is appropriate to the readership of the journal".

"The topic is very important and relevant, it is a kind of 'hot topic' at the moment and this study makes a significant contribution to it."

"The manuscript fulfils all the requirements for papers in the journal NAME. I have no hesitation in recommending its acceptance for publication after correcting a few typos and other minor details."

"Given the complexity of the work, the author has achieved positive results. The literature review includes current relevant studies and sources, and the compiled bibliography is a useful resource for practitioners."

"I have checked the methods and supplementary data and conclude that the study is appropriately conducted with no obvious errors identified.

Constructive comments:

"The abstract is very lengthy and contains detailed descriptions that are best suited for the main discussion sections of the paper. I suggest that the author shorten this section and leave only the most important elements."

"I would recommend that the author rewrite the introduction, analysis and discussion to create a more contextualised introduction to the....

"The authors have used the X approach and therefore I would expect to see additional controls/explanation of ethical approval/placement of data in a public database. It is very important that the authors provide this information in detail."

"Links to several important articles need to be added, namely..."

"The data in Table 1 and Figure 3 indicate X, while the results section indicates Y. The authors should carefully check ..."

"This study shows an interesting result about .... However, I would like to see more of this result and its implications." 

"I would like to see more information about ..."

"I don't think this paper contains enough reliable verified data to support the claim made on page X, lines Y-Z."

"The discussion could have been expanded to explain ..."

"The author could have strengthened the paper by addressing..."

"The paper would have been greatly improved if more details had been added about..."

"Unfortunately, I have identified a potential major flaw in the paper that I believe will be difficult to address unless the authors can perform the following additional analyses..."

"To make this paper fit for publication level, the author needs to answer the following essential questions..."

Linguistic changes:

"This work could use a thorough proofreading. It has many linguistic errors that sometimes make it difficult to understand. It may be helpful to engage a professional English editor after restructuring the paper."

"The paper could use stylistic changes for a stronger, clearer, and more persuasive argument."

"There are a few sentences that need to be rephrased for clarity."


These are just examples of expressions that can be used in writing a review. We hope they will be useful to you.