Reviewer Response Skill

For each comment, create the three-part structure in response_to_reviewers.tex:

\revcomment{%
\textbf{Comment R1-1.} [Paste reviewer's exact words — never modify.]
}

\revresponse{%
\textbf{Response (R1-1).} [Structured author response.]
}

\revchange{%
\textbf{Change (R1-1) in the manuscript.}
[Describe exactly what changed, where, and paste key revised text.]
}

Step 3: Implement Changes in the Manuscript

• Make all modifications in the main manuscript, figures, tables, and supplementary materials first
• Note final page numbers, figure/table numbers from the compiled PDF

Step 4: Write Response and Change Sections

• Fill in \revresponse with structured, polite, data-supported replies
• Fill in \revchange with precise locations and revised text excerpts

Step 5: Global Consistency Check

Run through the final checklist (see below).

Three-Part Structure Rules

\revcomment{...} — Original Comment (Deep Blue)

• Contains ONLY the reviewer's exact text, unmodified
• Never change wording, punctuation, grammar, or order
• Use commentcolor (deep blue, rgb 0.0, 0.0, 0.5)

\revresponse{...} — Author's Response (Green)

• Structured reply following this pattern:
  1. Opening: thank the reviewer and acknowledge the concern
  2. State agreement level (fully agree / partially agree / respectfully disagree + reason)
  3. Summarize actions taken (details go in \revchange)
• Use responsecolor (green, rgb 0.0, 0.5, 0.0)
• Do NOT re-quote reviewer text; use comment IDs like R1-2 to refer back

Response template:

\revresponse{%
\textbf{Response (R1-2).} We thank the reviewer for this helpful comment
on [topic]. We agree that [brief restatement], and we have revised the
manuscript to [high-level action]. Specifically, we [added/clarified/extended]
[what], and we now [report/discuss] [key result].
}

\revchange{...} — Change Description (Dark Red)

• Use changecolor (dark red, rgb 0.5, 0.0, 0.0)
• Mandatory for all substantive changes: paste the revised key text
• Always specify: Section name + page number (p.~NN) + position in section
• Use past tense: we added, we revised, we clarified

Change template:

\revchange{%
\textbf{Change (R1-2) in the manuscript.}
In Section~3.2 (p.~15), we revised the second paragraph. The updated text reads:

\begin{quote}
[Paste the revised key paragraph here.]
\end{quote}

We also updated Figure~3 (p.~18) to include [new elements].
}

LaTeX Color Macros

These three macros MUST be defined in the preamble. Do NOT introduce additional color macros or use raw \textcolor.

\definecolor{commentcolor}{rgb}{0.0, 0.0, 0.5}
\definecolor{responsecolor}{rgb}{0.0, 0.5, 0.0}
\definecolor{changecolor}{rgb}{0.5, 0.0, 0.0}

\newcommand{\revcomment}[1]{\begingroup\color{commentcolor}#1\endgroup}
\newcommand{\revresponse}[1]{\begingroup\color{responsecolor}#1\endgroup}
\newcommand{\revchange}[1]{\begingroup\color{changecolor}#1\endgroup}

Citation and Reference Formats

Sections and Pages

• Section~2.3, Subsection~3.6
• p.~15 (with non-breaking space)
• Combined: In Section~3.6 (p.~28), we added ...

Figures and Tables

• Main text: Figure~3, Figures~8--10, Table~2
• Supplementary: Figure~S1, Table~S3

References in \revchange

• If response file compiles independently (no shared BibTeX), write full bibliographic entries in plain text — do NOT use \cite to avoid ?? errors
• Example: Shah, M., et al. (2020), Possible ionosphere ..., Remote Sensing of Environment, 239, 111620.

Figures in Response File

• Embed updated figures with \includegraphics and write figure numbers directly (e.g., Figure 4) instead of using \ref{fig:...}
• Use \caption* for manually numbered captions

Multi-Sub-Question Comments

When one comment contains multiple sub-questions:

1. Keep the original comment as a single \revcomment block with the parent ID (e.g., R2-2)
2. Split responses into sub-IDs: R2-2.1, R2-2.2, R2-2.3
3. Split changes correspondingly

\revresponse{%
\textbf{Response (R2-2.1).} [Reply to sub-question 1]

\medskip

\textbf{Response (R2-2.2).} [Reply to sub-question 2]
}

\revchange{%
\textbf{Change (R2-2.1) in the manuscript.}
[Changes for sub-question 1 ...]

\medskip

\textbf{Change (R2-2.2) in the manuscript.}
[Changes for sub-question 2 ...]
}

Cover Letter

The response document should begin with a Cover Letter. The recommended structure:

1. Date + recipient (Editor-in-Chief / journal)
2. Greeting + manuscript info (title, type)
3. Brief thanks and revision summary
4. High-impact changes (3–5 bullet points)
5. Outcome and positioning (2–4 sentences)
6. Administrative statements (originality, conflicts, data/code availability)
7. Closing + corresponding author signature

Use the template in assets/response_template.tex as a starting point.

Text Change Patterns

Substantive text changes: show Original → Revised

\revchange{%
\textbf{Change (R1-2) in the manuscript.}
In the Introduction (Section~1, p.~4), the original sentence read:
\begin{quote}
\textit{Original:} ``[original text]''
\end{quote}
In the revised manuscript, it has been changed to:
\begin{quote}
\textit{Revised:} ``[revised text]''
\end{quote}
}

Minor typos/formatting: one-sentence description is sufficient

New figures: provide full caption text

New references: provide full bibliographic entry in plain text

Page Number Tips

Page numbers should reference the final clean PDF (not a draft). To reduce manual effort:

1. Use pdftotext to extract text from the main PDF with page breaks
2. Search for anchor text (40–80 chars from each \revchange) in the extracted text
3. Build a comment → page mapping table
4. Spot-check a few entries manually

Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting, verify:

• Every AE/Reviewer comment has a \revcomment{} block
• Every \revcomment{} is followed by \revresponse{} and \revchange{}
• All substantive changes include quoted revised text in \revchange
• All location references include: Section + page number (p.~NN)
• Figure/Table/Supplement numbers match between response file and manuscript
• Language is polite, accurate, and free of emotional wording
• All new references are added to the reference list and cited in the main text
• Compiled PDF has clear color distinction (blue/green/red) and clean structure

Reference Files

For complete details, examples (including complex multi-sub-question cases), and the full Cover Letter template, read:

• references/response_guideline.md — The complete guideline with all rules and worked examples
• assets/response_template.tex — Ready-to-use LaTeX skeleton template