Letters to the editor - How to write opinion (Letters to the editor, editorials, book reviews, and essays) - Doing other writing for publication

How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Letters to the editor
How to write opinion (Letters to the editor, editorials, book reviews, and essays)
Doing other writing for publication

Many journals print or post letters to the editor. Usually, not all letters received are published.

Often, letters comment on papers recently published in the journal, thus serving as postpublication peer review. Sometimes they deal independently with issues of professional interest to readers. In some journals, brief research reports or case reports can appear as letters; an editor who decides not to publish a paper may offer to publish a condensed version as a letter to the editor. When a letter comments on a paper, the authors of the paper may have the opportunity to prepare a reply for publication.

Before drafting a letter, check the journal’s instructions, which commonly appear in the letters section of the journal and on the journal website. Among items that the instructions may specify are maximum length, number of figures and tables allowed, number of references allowed, and acceptable means of submission. Increasingly, journals have been requesting or requiring that letters be submitted electronically. Some journals’ websites include a section through which letters can be submitted.

If you are writing a letter to the editor about a published article, submit it shortly after the article appeared. Some journals consider for publication only those letters received within a stated interval. If you criticize an article, do so in a constructive and respectful tone. (Remember: The author might peer-review your next scientific paper or grant proposal.) Similarly, if you are responding to a letter noting a possible shortcoming of your work, word your reply calmly—no matter what your initial reaction might have been.

Especially because of length limitations, word your letter concisely, in keeping with principles presented later in this book in Part VII, “Scientific Style.” Focus on a single point (or a group of closely related points) and relate the other content to that central focus. Whatever your message, support it clearly. Your letter may then be a fine addition to the literature.