< Before the start of the actual report, you can put in private comments to the editor, things that will not be seen by the author. Usually this is a bit of chit chat ("Here is my report, a week early!..."), however you can use it to remind the editor of your relationship with the author, if you have one, or any biases you have. As a general rule, do not put the main recommendations or criticisms here; the process works best if the author can see almost everything. But nothing that would make it completely obvious who you are should go below this line. > Referee's report on < paper title > by < authors' names > * RECOMMENDATION < This should be a short overall recommendation (two or three sentences). Your choices for recommendations may be dictated by the editor, but you'll probably choose between the following options, to which you should add a very brief summary of your reasons: > This paper should be accepted (with minor revisions described below), and does not need to be refereed again. This paper needs a major revision and another round of refereeing. This paper should be rejected. * GENERAL COMMENTS ** The Ideas and Main Claims < Summarize the paper briefly in your own words. Be sure to describe the problem being solved and the main claims. However, do not put in any evaluation of how good or bad paper is here; that goes below. > ** Comments on the Ideas and Main Claims < Evaluate the ideas, and in particular the support the paper provides for its claims. > ** Other General Comments and Suggestions < Here put other general comments on the paper, and suggestions for improvement that may not be so important as to affect the decision. > * WHAT MUST BE FIXED IN A REVISION < If the paper should be revised, indicate following the boilerplate below exactly what must be fixed in a revision to be acceptable. Otherwise, discard this section. > I consider the following to be the minimal changes necessary for acceptance. Of course, I would also urge the authors to take into account my other suggestions. * SPECIFIC COMMENTS < Page n, ... >