Rebuttal & Response Letter (eer-rebuttal)

When to trigger

• An EER R&R (major or minor) arrived and you need a revision plan + response letter
• Referee reports conflict and you must triage what to do
• You are weighing a formal appeal of a reject (one appeal per submission)
• You need to convert reports into a credible, point-by-point response

The EER revision reality

EER decisions are accept / R&R (major or minor) / reject, with desk rejects possible without review. Under single-anonymized review the referees know who you are — the response must be professional, complete, and non-defensive. The editor decides; referees advise. A successful R&R does the substantive work the reports ask for, documents it transparently, and makes the editor's re-read easy. EER permits one formal appeal per submission (Elsevier appeal policy; the decision is final) — reserve it for a clear factual/process error, not disagreement with judgment.

Building the response

1. Triage the reports

• Sort every comment into: must-do (identification/robustness/credibility), should-do (clarity, added test), discuss-only (out-of-scope or contradicting another referee).
• Flag conflicts between referees and let the editor see you handled both fairly.
• Identify the one or two objections that gate acceptance and over-deliver on those.

2. Do the substantive work first

• Re-run identification/robustness the reports demand (eer-identification, eer-robustness) before writing the letter.
• If you decline a request, give a reasoned, evidenced decline — never a flat refusal.

3. Draft the point-by-point letter

• Quote each comment, then respond; state what changed and where (section/table/page).
• Lead each response with the action taken, then the explanation.
• Keep a respectful, collegial tone; thank referees for specific improvements.
• Add a summary of major changes at the top for the editor.

4. Keep the paper coherent

• Ensure revisions do not break the narrative; re-check abstract/intro/highlights (eer-writing-style).
• Update the replication package if results changed (eer-replication-package).

Checklist

• [ ] Every referee/editor comment is quoted and answered (none skipped)
• [ ] Each response leads with the action and cites the exact location of the change
• [ ] The 1–2 acceptance-gating objections are over-delivered
• [ ] Referee conflicts surfaced and resolved fairly for the editor
• [ ] Declines are reasoned and evidenced, never dismissive
• [ ] Summary-of-changes for the editor at the top of the letter
• [ ] Paper still coherent; abstract/intro/highlights re-checked; replication package updated
• [ ] Tone professional throughout (referees know the authors)

Anti-patterns

• A defensive letter that argues with referees instead of addressing them
• Claiming "we have addressed this" without pointing to the concrete change
• Cherry-picking easy comments and ignoring the hard, acceptance-gating one
• Letting two referees' conflicting demands go unreconciled for the editor
• Filing an appeal over a judgment disagreement (appeals are for clear errors; decision is final)
• Changing results without updating the replication package or the affected exhibits

Worked vignette (illustrative)

An R&R has three reports. Referee 1 (gating): "TWFE is biased." Referee 2: "result may be crisis-driven." Referee 3 (out-of-scope): "add a structural model." Plan: re-estimate with Callaway–Sant'Anna and add leave-out-period robustness (over-deliver on 1 and 2); for 3, explain in the letter why a full structural model is beyond scope but add a reduced-form mechanism test as a good-faith partial response. The letter opens with a change summary, quotes each comment, and points to the exact revised tables — making the editor's decision easy.

Output format

【Decision】R&R major / R&R minor / reject (appeal grounds?)
【Triage】must-do / should-do / discuss-only (with gating items flagged)
【Substantive work done】identification/robustness re-runs completed? [Y/N]
【Letter】each comment quoted + action-first response + change location? [Y/N]
【Coherence】abstract/intro/highlights + replication package updated? [Y/N]
【Next step】resubmit via Editorial Manager (or eer-submission for a fresh target)