Useful Resources on Rebuttals

This article is written for researchers who, like me, struggled with preparing and handling their first rebuttal after submitting a paper. Last winter, I submitted a paper as the first author for the first time, and I felt great anxiety and helplessness while waiting for the upcoming rebuttal. To alleviate these feelings, I sought advice from those around me and searched the internet, but it was not easy to find a solution.

Since rebuttal strategies and examples are rarely shared publicly, the process can be especially daunting for junior researchers like me. In contrast to papers—where ample guidance and well-regarded examples are readily available—it remains unclear what truly constitutes a strong rebuttal letter.

Fortunately, in recent times, several senior researchers have recognized these difficulties and have written useful articles: 1) sharing their own rebuttal strategies, 2) analyzing and introducing the rebuttal processes of conferences, and 3) disclosing the their paper reviews. Through below articles, I was able to approach the rebuttal process more confidently and strategically.

• Rebuttal Strategies

  1. Yao, Danfeng Daphne. “Rebuttal How-to: Strategies, Tactics, and the Big Picture in Research.” (2023).

  2. Morris, M. R. “My Rebuttal-Writing Process for HCI Venues.”

• Analyzing and Introducing Rebuttal Processes

  1. Huang, Junjie, et al. “What makes a successful rebuttal in computer science conferences?: A perspective on social interaction.” (2023)

  2. Anastasia Ailamak, et. al. “The SIGMOD 2019 Research Track Reviewing System” (2019)

  3. Jehee Lee, “SIGGRAPH 논문은 어떻게 결정되는가 (KOR)”(2008)

• Disclosed Conference Papers and Reviews
  1. Database (SIGMOD/VLDB) conference papers and reviews from the DBIS group at TU Dortmund

I hope this article will be helpful for those preparing for conference paper submissions and the rebuttal process.