Writing Style (agsy-writing-style)

Writing Style (agsy-writing-style)

An AgSy paper must be readable by a broad systems-science audience — agronomists, modellers, economists, and environmental scientists — and prepared with the journal's front matter. This skill is about communicating a systems analysis clearly and meeting Elsevier's format, not about generating claims.

When to trigger

• Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish
• Writing the ≤ 250-word abstract, the Highlights, or the graphical abstract
• Tightening a long methods/results section toward the ~8,000-word guideline
• Aligning references and format to the journal's style before submission

Reach the systems-science audience

1. Front-load the systems contribution. By the end of the introduction the reader knows the system, the interaction/trade-off in question, the modelling approach, and why the result matters. Don't make a reader dig for the "so what."
2. Define the system early. State boundary, components, and hierarchical level so a non-specialist in your exact subsystem can follow (see agsy-systems-framing-and-modeling).
3. Explain the model in plain terms first, then in detail. A reader should grasp what the model does before meeting its equations.
4. Argument-first prose. Lead with the systems insight; use model output and statistics to support it. Avoid "the model shows…" without saying what it shows about the system and why it matters.
5. Signpost. Clear IMRaD-style structure so a reader can navigate framing → model → evaluation → trade-offs → implications.

Format & front matter (source map refreshed 2026-06-20)

• Abstract: ≤ 250 words, stating purpose, principal results, and major conclusions.
• Highlights: 3-5 short bullet points, each no more than 85 characters including spaces.
• Graphical abstract: a separate figure file summarizing the work for an interdisciplinary audience — often a conceptual system diagram or a trade-off result; live-check current size/format specs.
• References: format to the journal's style; manage with Zotero/Mendeley/BibTeX (Elsevier elsarticle for LaTeX).
• Declarations: CRediT roles, declaration of competing interest, funding, and AI-use disclosure where applicable (see agsy-submission).

Length discipline (research paper ~8,000 words; no hard cap)