Publishing Skills: Manuscript Writing, Review and Mentorship

Planning Your Manuscript Before You Write

Good papers start with a clear, testable hypothesis, adequate sample size, and complete data, since retrospective designs and thin follow-up invite skepticism, and authors should write figures and results first, then methods, introduction, discussion, and finally the abstract and title.

Writing the Discussion and Responding to Reviewers

A formulaic discussion restates results once, states the main finding, discusses points of interest against existing literature, acknowledges limitations, and offers one permitted speculation, while authors should answer every reviewer comment respectfully rather than ignoring changes.

Serving as a Constructive Peer Reviewer

Good reviewers check novelty, appropriate methodology, and conflicts of interest before accepting an assignment, form their overall impression first, then evaluate details, and deliver detailed, respectful, timely comments that help authors improve their work even if rejected.

Training the Next Generation: A New JVS Internship

A new Journal of Vascular Surgery internship pairs residents and fellows with editor mentors to review real manuscripts, aiming to diversify the reviewer pool and teach the next generation how peer review shapes fairness in research and publication.