Use when formatting citations and notes for an American Historical Review (AHR) manuscript. The AHR follows the Chicago Manual of Style with all references in footnotes/endnotes — no bibliography or works-cited list and no in-text parenthetical citation. Gets the note apparatus right; it does not write the prose or argument.
SkillScore100Maintained
Automatic
◆Writing & Editing pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 18 of 22 without it.
Without skill82%
With skill100%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The response identifies the target note volume for an 8,000-word draft as approximately 4,500–5,500 words.
The response indicates that the target note volume for an 8,000-word draft is approximately 4,500–5,500 words.
The response states that 1,200 words of notes is insufficient for an 8,000-word text, citing a target of roughly 4,500–5,500 words of notes.
and 1 more in the full report
4 fixed18 passed either way0 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+18 pp
Tokens
+67%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-31%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v122 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 4 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 4
Prompt
An author submits an article text of 8,000 words accompanied by 1,200 words of footnotes. Does this meet the expected note volume guidelines for the American Historical Review?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The response states that 1,200 words of notes is insufficient for an 8,000-word text, citing a target of roughly 4,500–5,500 words of notes.
Missed
Passed
case-14 · 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.md106 linessingle file
Citation & Chicago Style (ahr-citation-and-style)
The AHR uses Chicago Manual of Style notes: every citation lives in a footnote or endnote,
there is no separate bibliography / works-cited list, and there are no in-text parenthetical
citations. The note apparatus is substantial — a guideline of roughly 2:1 text-to-notes at
initial submission. This skill gets the notes right (verify the current CMOS edition and any AHR house
departures on the live guides).
When to trigger
Building or cleaning up the footnotes/endnotes
Citing archival/manuscript sources, books, articles, or digitized material
Converting a bibliography-and-author-date draft to Chicago notes
A reviewer or editor flagged citation form or note density
Chicago-notes essentials
All citation in the notes. No bibliography page, no works cited, no (Author year) in the text.
Full first citation, shortened thereafter. First note gives the full reference; later notes use
author last name + short title + page. Follow the current CMOS rules for ibid. / shortened
forms (confirm the AHR house preference).
Books: Author, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page.
Archival / manuscript sources: document description and date, collection, box/folder,
archive and location. Be specific enough that another scholar could retrieve it.
Digitized sources: cite the original, then the database / stable URL and date consulted.
Translations & foreign-language titles: follow CMOS conventions; provide translations where
needed and note them.
Note density (the AHR norm)
Notes carry the evidentiary apparatus and qualifications, side-evidence, and historiographical
asides that would clog the text — but they are not a dumping ground for undigested material.
Target roughly 2:1 text-to-notes at submission; references typically grow during revision.
Concretely, a typical 8,000-word article (the AHR target length, not counting notes) carries
about 4,500–5,500 words of notes. Confirm current figures on the live Author Guidelines.
Anti-patterns
A bibliography or works-cited list (the AHR does not use one)