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I am writing the acknowledgment of my article and so I wrote:

I would like to appreciate the Reviewers' subtle comments on improving this article.

My main problem is to use in improving or on improving. I found both forms used in different sentences on the web. And so I wonder which one has a better taste in English.

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    "in improving" acknowledges that they have improved it, like "comments that improved this article". "on improving" means "on the subject of" - "about how I can improve this article." I think what you mean is "advice for improving" or "advice on how to improve". And "would like to appreciate" really means "I want to say I am grateful, but I'm not". I think you mean "I would like to gratefully acknowledge" or just "I appreciate".
    – nxx
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:11
  • @nxx: I really want to show extremely gratitude to the ones who helped me find my errors and so improve the article. Thanks.
    – Mikasa
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:13
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    So you mean "fine" as in "excellent" or similar. "fine" meaning "subtle" is not the right meaning here and could offend the reviewers. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subtle
    – nxx
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:17
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    I would avoid using an adjective. If you are using the beginnings I suggested then "excellent" as well could sound over the top (too much).
    – nxx
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:24
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    @Babak: What I meant was: don't use the wording "I would like to appreciate ...". Say "I appreciate ..." or "I would like to acknowledge …" or "I would like to express my appreciation of ...". If you say "I would like to appreciate ...", it subtly suggests that you don't actually appreciate.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 16:06

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Is the reviewer really commenting on the process of improving the paper? Or are his comments intended to improve the paper? I myself would probably write either "the reviewer's subtle comments, which (greatly) helped to improve this paper", or "the reviewer's suggestions to improve this paper".

Note that "I would like to appreciate..." should probably be "I would like to express my appreciation of...", or "I very much appreciate...", or something like that.

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  • They are commenting on the processes of improving.
    – Mikasa
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:21
  • @BabakSorouh: So that means they say things like, "you improved the article here, but your attempt at improving it failed there"? The comments were mainly on your improvements, not on the rest of your article?
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:25
  • In fact, they gave me some valuable points which helped me to have a good article.
    – Mikasa
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 15:28
  • @BabakSorouh: That is what I thought. So then my answer stands.
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jan 22, 2014 at 16:25

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