# paper-rebuttal

Guides researchers through writing author rebuttals after peer review. It maps reviewer objections to scores and focuses effort on points that actually decide acceptance.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 441 installs · ★ 481
- Author: EvoScientist
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/EvoScientist/EvoSkills/tree/HEAD/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-09-30
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/paper-rebuttal

## What it does

The skill structures responses around score diagnosis rather than answering every comment equally. It assigns reviewer feedback into a color-coded budget: 60% of the rebuttal tackles score-driving red issues, 30% addresses actionable orange concerns, and 10% handles minor gray corrections. Positive remarks get flagged in green to arm sympathetic reviewers during committee discussions.

It categorizes complaints into distinct patterns, including missing baselines, unclear writing, and subjective novelty claims. Shared objections across reviewers get consolidated into common responses to respect word counts. Do not use this skill for pre-submission checks on drafts; the documentation explicitly specifies `paper-review` for catching weaknesses before submission.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add EvoScientist/EvoSkills --skill paper-rebuttal -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/paper-rebuttal/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add EvoScientist/EvoSkills --skill paper-rebuttal -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add EvoScientist/EvoSkills --skill paper-rebuttal -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install EvoScientist/EvoSkills paper-rebuttal
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add EvoScientist/EvoSkills --skill paper-rebuttal -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/EvoScientist/EvoSkills --path skills/paper-rebuttal
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add EvoScientist/EvoSkills --skill paper-rebuttal -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/EvoScientist/EvoSkills/tree/HEAD/skills/paper-rebuttal/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- identify core reviewer objections that drive negative paper scores
- consolidate recurring feedback across reviewers into a single response section
- draft structured replies to criticisms about missing baselines or novelty
- allocate rebuttal word count efficiently based on objection severity

## Example prompts
- Here are three peer review reports for my paper. Help me color-code the concerns and plan a rebuttal.
- Reviewer 2 claims our novelty is limited. Draft an author response addressing this specific criticism.
- Group the overlapping concerns from reviewers 1 and 3 into a consolidated common response section.

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 6db152eb98b9ff05.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 6db152eb98b9ff05
```text
---
name: paper-rebuttal
description: "Guides writing effective rebuttals after receiving peer review feedback. Covers review diagnosis (score-driven color-coding), response strategy (champion identification, common-theme consolidation), tactical writing (18 rules), and counterintuitive rebuttal principles. Use when: user received reviewer scores/comments, needs to write a rebuttal or author response, wants to respond to specific criticism (e.g. 'limited novelty', 'missing baselines'), mentions 'rebuttal', 'reviewer comments', 'author response', or 'respond to reviewers'. Do NOT use for pre-submission self-review (use paper-review instead)."
allowed-tools: "write_file edit_file read_file think_tool"
metadata:
  author: EvoScientist
  version: '1.1.0'
  tags: [core, writing, academic-writing, peer-review]
---

# Paper Rebuttal

A systematic approach to writing rebuttals after receiving peer review feedback. The goal is not to defend every point — it's to move scores by addressing the concerns that actually drive them.

## When to Use This Skill

- User received reviewer comments and needs to write a rebuttal
- User asks how to respond to specific reviewer criticism
- User wants to analyze reviews strategically before responding
- User mentions "rebuttal", "reviewer comments", "review feedback", "respond to reviewers"

> For pre-submission self-review and catching weaknesses before they become reviewer complaints, use the `paper-review` skill.

## Step 1: Diagnose Reviews

Before writing a single word, answer: **"Why did this reviewer give this exact score?"** Not what they wrote — what drove the score. Most researchers skip this and address every comment equally. That is a mistake.

### Score Diagnosis

For each reviewer, ask: "What would move this reviewer from their current score to acceptance?"

| Score Range | Typical Situation | Your Strategy |
|-------------|------------------|---------------|
| 7+ | Already your champion | Arm them with ammunition for the discussion phase |
| 5-6 | On the fence, 1-2 concerns holding them back | Identify and resolve those specific concerns |
| 3-4 | Fundamental objection | Determine if the objection is addressable; if not, focus elsewhere |
| 1-2 | Strong rejection | Identify the one or two objections that drive the score, not every point they raise |

### Color-Code Every Comment

Read through each review and mark every comment:

| Color | Meaning | Action | Budget |
|-------|---------|--------|--------|
| **Red** | Score-driving concern — this is why the score is low | Address first, maximum effort and evidence | 60% |
| **Orange** | Addressable concern — can be resolved | Respond with concrete data or revision | 30% |
| **Gray** | Minor or cosmetic | Acknowledge briefly, confirm fix | 10% |
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 6db152eb98b9ff05

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