Hi there,
I received an email from a journal, which is considered the most important one in my field, asking me whether I would like to receive manuscripts to review as a part of the peer review process. I published my thesis as a book and it was subjected to peer review but I did not receive any report or comments, so I really do not know how the peer review process is going on. I am looking forward to reading your experience with peer review.

Good question, there is no real format, unfortunately. From my experience receiving peer-reviewed comments to my papers as well as peer-reviewing others, I think there are definitely two ways that people choose: a) section by section or b) overall argument + strengths + areas for improvement (eg: what section can be drawn out more, further detailed or even deleted if not seen as necessary for the reader). I've always appreciated the latter method (b) for feedback, as I found it keeps the author's voice intact as well allows for the author to understand how the manuscript should feel like as a whole product.


These are the bad experiences I've had, (cue the 'reviewer 2 memes! lol) : too much of the reviewer's own work influencing the critique, 'I would have approached the topic this way...'. is terrible feedback and quite arrogant. Not saying you would do it, but it has made me really strive to be as constructive and helpful, yet respectful to the hard work that went into writing a paper when I peer-review. Also, it some just provided a generalised paragraph saying it is a great paper, but no engagement with the argument/data/implications, which made me feel like the reviewer didn't take sufficient time to read and try to find something to comment on.

Congratulations, by the way! It's an honor to be selected for peer review (especially at a top journal), and quite a challenging, yet fun experience.

Yes I second that - congrats! It is exciting! Have a google as there is some good guidance available online. It is good to find a game plan before starting so that you have that sense of assurance that you've reviewed it adequately. You may also be able to find some actual example of reviewers comments (probably not from your specific field though unless you're lucky).

I've only done one and it was a very rewarding experience!

Good luck!

This is a great opportunity. In most journals there are no guidelines regarding how a review should be written. You can simply summarize your comments about the paper, strength and witnesses, referring to the different parts (intro, method, results and discussion). Then consult with someone more senior and experienced (e.g., your supervisor)

Hello all,

Many thanks for your replies. I read them all before writing the review and they were really useful. I sent my review two days ago. It was interesting experience, I wish to do it again. It is really interesting to real other's work. Sometimes it could give you more confidence in the quality of your work.

Congrats! I agree - it is quite a reflexive process isn't it!