How researchers can communicate more effectively with journals

The journal publication process involves several rounds of interaction—both direct and indirect—with journal editors and journal reviewers. Communicating clearly and effectively with them is almost as important as ensuring that the English in your paper is up to the mark.

Apart from the emails that you may exchange with the journal, there are two documents whose language quality directly influences the impression that you make on the journal—the cover letter and the response to the reviewers. Researchers often overlook the need to polish their English in these documents, and this may impact the overall assessment decision they receive from the journal.

Therefore, we encourage you to make best use of our Advanced Editing service to polish the English in these documents as well.

As you would know, the cover letter serves as an “advertisement” for your paper, telling the journal editor why your paper should be considered for publication, so it is essential to write an effective cover letter. Journal editors are highly likely to read the cover letter even before looking through the paper. As a result, it is crucial to ensure that the cover letter is written in good English, so that the journal editor forms a favorable impression of the English in the paper as well.

The same strategy applies to the response to reviewer comments. Ensuring that the English in your responses is appropriate will help in moving your paper towards publication.

So, for your next paper, do remember to use our Advanced Editing service to create cover letters and responses that create a good impression on the journal!