Once all the reviews are in, the Section Editor must arrive at a decision on the submission. To assist the Section Editor, the Reviewer's Reviews have been automatically placed in the Editor/Author Correspondence (except for those parts the Reviewers have identified as for the Section Editor alone). The Section Editor can edit these comments, which are identified by letter (e.g., Reviewer A, etc.). The Section Editor should outline the basis of their decision to the Author in Editor/Author Correspondence (as the Author cannot see the Decision recorded by the Editor). The Section Editor can save and edit these comments before emailing them to the author. Each time the Section Editor emails the Author only the current comments are sent. The cumulative set of comments remains available to the Section Editor and the Author on their respective journal pages for the Review of this submission. The Section Editor can also upload a version of the submission possibly with suggestions or comments.

Recording the Decision. The Section Editor selects a Decision from among Accept, Accept Pending Revisions, Resubmit for Review, or Decline. The Section Editor can make an initial decision, Accept Pending Revisions, and then after being satisfied by the Author Version uploaded by the Author, make a second decision to Accept. If the Section Editor selects Accept, then the next step is to designate a version of the submission to go to Copyediting on the Editing page, from among the Editor and Author versions. The default Editor Version is simply the Review Version, and the Section Editor can make changes to this version — restoring the author's name, for example — and upload it as suitable to go to Copyediting. If the Section Editor selects Decline, the submission moves to the Archives list, with its status recorded as Declined.

Resubmit for Review. The Section Editor can initiate a second round of reviews for a submission. The Section Editor records Resubmit for Review as the Decision. The Section Editor then emails the Author of this (as the Author cannot see the Decision) and includes an outline of what needs to be done with the submission prior to resubmitting it for review. When the Author re-submits a version for review, it appears under Author Version, and the Section Editor designates it for resubmission. It then becomes the Review Version for Round 2 (and should again be checked for anonymity, and if need be, uploaded again under Review Version). The Reviewers from Round 1 will still be in place, although their reviews and recommendations will have been cleared and placed under "Regrets, Cancel, and Earlier Rounds of this Submission." The Section Editor can activate the request for each of the Reviewers from Round 1 by clicking on the email icon under Request, or the Section Editor can use Clear Reviewer and select another Reviewer for Round 2. The Editor/Author Correspondence for Round 1 is also placed under "Regrets, Cancels, & Previous Rounds" of this Submission, where the Section Editor can review it as needed.