Use when building maps, figures, and tables for an Annals of the American Association of Geographers manuscript. The Annals has a dedicated Cartography Editor and Graphics Guidelines; maps are held to cartographic standards, not just plotted. Improves exhibits; it does not run the analysis.
SkillScore95Maintained
Automatic
◆Writing & Editing pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 21 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 12 of 22 without it.
Without skill55%
With skill95%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Concludes with 【Next】aaag-writing-style.
Uses the header 【Exhibit】 for exhibit categorization.
Uses the header 【Cartography】 for cartography evaluation.
and 14 more in the full report
10 fixed11 passed either way0 still failing1 broke
Pass-rate lift
+41 pp
Tokens
+71%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-15%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v121 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 10 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 10
Prompt
When including a study-area locator map in a geography paper, what specific audit trail metadata must be documented?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Requires documenting projection, extent, scale, source, date, and rationale for boundary selection.
Missed
Passed
case-22 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/15/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md120 linessingle file
Maps, Figures & Tables (aaag-tables-figures)
The Annals is a geography journal: maps are arguments, and the journal holds them to cartographic
standards. There is a Cartography Editor and Graphics Guidelines (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准),
and every exhibit counts toward the 11,000-word cap (figure captions are included). Make each
exhibit carry its weight and read correctly in print and grayscale.
When to trigger
Designing or revising maps, remote-sensing figures, model plots, or tables
A reviewer/editor flagged a map's projection, classification, legend, or legibility
Trimming exhibits to fit the inclusive word cap
Cartographic essentials (maps are held to standard here)
Projection chosen on purpose — appropriate to area/distance/shape for the analysis; name it.
Classification stated — method (quantiles, equal-interval, natural breaks) and class count, with
a rationale; the choropleth message must not be an artifact of the break scheme.
Map elements present — scale bar, north arrow where needed, legend, data source, and date; graticule/inset where it aids reading.
Normalize areal data — rates/densities, not raw counts, on choropleths; avoid MAUP-driven artifacts.
Accessible color — colorblind-safe, sequential/diverging schemes matched to the data type;
legible in grayscale; sufficient figure-ground contrast.
Remote-sensing & physical figures
State band combination/stretch; include a spatial error/uncertainty panel where accuracy matters.
Give coordinates/extent and resolution so the figure is reproducible and locatable.
Model & statistical figures
Prefer effect/marginal-effect, GWR-surface, and event/trend plots over dense tables; show uncertainty
bands. Tables carry effect sizes and CIs, not stars alone.
Keep model figures spatially interpretable: label the spatial unit, neighborhood definition, bandwidth,
buffer, or grid resolution that drives the pattern. If the figure is a map of residuals, clusters, or
local coefficients, add the diagnostics that prevent readers from treating noise as geography.
Exhibit decision gate
Use this gate before adding or keeping any exhibit. The Annals page budget is tight, and geography
reviewers will ask whether the visual does analytic work rather than decorating the manuscript.