Six reasons why your article is rejected – and what to do about them

Blood, sweat, and tears. You’ve submitted your article. What responses might you get from the journal?

Acceptance without revisions

If this happens, you’ve hit the jackpot. It’s rare, but it means you don’t need to do anything further. Your article will be published as it is.

Acceptance with minor revisions

Your article will be accepted if you make a few small changes. This usually doesn’t take much time and is easy to manage. Still a jackpot!

Revision and resubmission – major revisions

The journal requests substantial changes before they’ll review it again. Chances are you’ll need to revise the methodology, data analysis, or interpretation. It’s not a rejection, but it does mean a lot of work.

Rejection

Your article will not be published. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes you’ll get detailed feedback that can help you improve your article so you can try again with a different journal. Sometimes, there’s a “rejection with resubmission option,” meaning your article is rejected, but you may resubmit it to the same journal after further improvements.

 

What are reasons for rejection?

There are six main reasons why your submission might be rejected. What are they, and what can you do about them?

1. The relevance of your contribution is unclear

Often, an article is rejected because it’s unclear why the findings are important. This might be due to insufficient theoretical backing or a lack of clarity on what’s original about your contribution.
What to do?
Make sure both the introduction and conclusion clearly state why your research is unique and what new insights it offers.

2. Your proposed solution does not fully address the problem you’ve presented

If this is the feedback you receive, it likely indicates a methodological issue: your answer does not fully align with your research question.
What to do?
Verify that your research method truly answers your question, and ensure the results logically flow from the analysis.

3. There’s insufficient coherence between the problem, solution, and results

If the logical flow from problem statement to conclusion isn’t clear, your article may be rejected. This means you need to have a solid argument structure.
What to do? 
Check your argumentation. What’s the main thread in your article? Clarify it by asking questions. Clear subheadings and explicitly linking conclusions to your research question can help.

 

4. You claim more than your research can deliver

If you’re overly enthusiastic about the contribution of your results and your claims are too ambitious without sufficient support, it often leads to rejection.
What to do? 
Be realistic about what your research does and doesn’t demonstrate. Avoid jumping to conclusions, and clearly discuss the limitations of your study.

5. Your article lacks a clear structure and is poorly written

The content of your research may be interesting and relevant, but if your article is poorly structured or full of complex sentences—essentially hard to read—this is grounds for rejection.
What to do? 
Pay extra attention to the structure of your article. Ensure each section logically follows the previous one. Use clear, accessible language. To check this, you can use tools like Really Write.

6. Your article gives a poor first impression

The first impression of your article is crucial, just like in dating or a job interview. If your article looks sloppy, has grammar issues, or doesn’t follow the journal’s format, it may be rejected before the content is even assessed.
What to do?
Thoroughly check your article. Make sure it follows the correct format, is consistent, and has correct grammar. Aim for a professional and polished first impression.

Want to get published?

Increase your chances by communicating clearly, being methodologically precise, structuring your narrative well, and choosing a journal that aligns with your topic and objectives.

Remember, even doing everything “by the book” doesn’t guarantee acceptance. Sometimes other factors come into play: the journal already has enough articles, there was just a special issue on your topic, or the editor was having a bad day. There’s nothing you can do about that. Not fun, but part of the academic game.