Response to reviewers as sole author

Question

I am about to submit a response to reviewers on a paper where I am sole author. As it's my first paper of this kind, I am quite confused on using the first person in singular/plural form or third person. For the manuscript, I decided to use the third person, i.e., "We show this", "we demonstrate" etc. What form should be used for the answer to reviewers? I see the following options:

1. "We thank the reviewer for ... . The reviewer is right that ..."
2. "I thank the reviewer for ... . The reviewer is right that ..."
3. "Thank you for your comments. You are right that ..." (addressing directly)
4. "The author thanks the reviewer for ... . The reviewer is right that ..."

Which of these would be the best choice? Before I used 1), which sounds unusual with one author (even though used in the paper). Thank you!

Answer 1

In the manuscript, 'we' represents the author(s) and the reader collectively. Thus there are (at least) two people involved, and it makes sense to use the plural.

In the letter, this reasoning doesn't make sense: there is no passive reader along for the ride. The we-form (example 1) is not appropriate. Any of the other three are acceptable - and common. This largely comes down to a matter of personal choice.

However: note that (typically) your response letter is addressed to the editor, and not to the reviewers. Therefore, it would probably be most correct to refer to the reviewers in the third person. Of course, it is common that the editor chooses to show the letter to the reviewers - but ultimately it is the editor that needs to be satisfied with your revisions, not the reviewer. Thus examples 2 or 4 are probably the most appropriate, with 2 being more common in modern usage.