# Paper rebuttal tips in DaRL Lab

**Overall idea of the rebuttal:**

1. Highlight that the flaws in the paper can be improved and emphasize the significant contributions of the paper.
2. Convince the Area Chair (AC) to accept the paper and reject unhelpful review comments.
3. Maintain a positive attitude, with multiple rounds of responses and rebuttals if necessary.
4. If there are conflicting comments on the same point, encourage reviewers to discuss with each other to gain support.
5. Avoid directly admitting to problems; instead, explain why a particular approach was taken while acknowledging the value of the comment.
6. Use respectful language, framing "mistakes" as "misunderstandings."

The following template is from Stephen Casper:

\#[<sup>\[a\]</sup>](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNmLWb0z8F4Td-WykXdhTQfzsX26zXm7pY2e34SVmFo/mobilebasic#cmnt1) Thanks + response

We are thankful for your time and help, especially related to \[thing(s) they discussed]. We were glad to hear that you found \[something nice they said].

\## 1. [<sup>\[b\]</sup>](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNmLWb0z8F4Td-WykXdhTQfzsX26zXm7pY2e34SVmFo/mobilebasic#cmnt2)\[Issue title]

\> \[quote of criticism from them]

\*\*\[Bold tag]:\*\* \[Response paragraph]

\*\*\[Bold tag]:\*\* \[Response paragraph]

\*\*Action 1.1: \[what we are doing if applicable]\*\*

\*\*Action 1.2: \[what we are doing if applicable]\*\*

\*\*Question 1.3: \[question for them if applicable, e.g. asking for clarification, if this fixes their concern, or what they would recommend we consider adding]\*\*

\## 2. \[Issue title]

\> \[quote of criticism from them]

\*\*\[Bold tag]:\*\* \[Response paragraph]

\*\*\[Bold tag]:\*\* \[Response paragraph]

\*\*Action 2.1: \[what we are doing if applicable]\*\*

\*\*Question 2.2: \[question for them if applicable, e.g. asking for clarification, if this fixes their concern, or what they would recommend we consider adding]\*\*

\*\*Question 2.3: \[question for them if applicable, e.g. asking for clarification, if this fixes their concern, or what they would recommend we consider adding]\*\*

\## What do you think?

\*\*Thank you again for taking the time to review the paper and providing helpful feedback! Do the above actions address your concerns with the paper? If not, what further clarification or modifications could we make to improve it?\*\*

[\[a\]](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNmLWb0z8F4Td-WykXdhTQfzsX26zXm7pY2e34SVmFo/mobilebasic#cmnt_ref1)See also Jacob Foerster's doc:

<https://www.jakobfoerster.com/how-to-rebuttal-ml-paper>

[\[b\]](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNmLWb0z8F4Td-WykXdhTQfzsX26zXm7pY2e34SVmFo/mobilebasic#cmnt_ref2)Every section should generally have at least one action or question.
