Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) via Editorial Manager — the $30 submission fee (waived for sole-author grad students), the separate cover page for double-blind review, the ~150-word abstract, mandatory figure alt text, AJS house style, and the originality statement. Final checks; it does not draft content.
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
Specifies the thirty dollar submission fee amount
Lists Word, PDF, and LaTeX as accepted main document formats
Includes the bracketed tag 【Alt text】 verifying figure descriptions
and 11 more in the full report
9 fixed12 passed either way1 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+41 pp
Tokens
+63%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-43%
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 9 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 9
Prompt
Under AJS house style, how many authors trigger the use of 'et al.' in in-text parenthetical citations?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
States that 'et al.' is used for citations with three or more authors
Missed
Passed
case-18 · 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.md104 linessingle file
Submission Preflight (ajs-submission)
The last check before pressing submit on Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/ucp-ajs). AJS
is double-blind, so the most common avoidable failures are an under-anonymized manuscript and a
cover page left inside the manuscript file. Also unique to AJS: a $30 submission fee and AJS's
own house style (not the ASA Style Guide). Verify volatile items on the live pages before submission.
When to trigger
"Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload
Unsure which files/metadata Editorial Manager expects
Confirming the fee, anonymization, abstract, alt text, and house style are all handled
Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page)
Owner / publisher: University of Chicago (Dept. of Sociology) / University of Chicago Press
(NOT SAGE/ASA).
Portal:Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/ucp-ajs); accepts Word, PDF, or LaTeX.
Review model:double-blind — anonymize the manuscript; submit the cover page as a separate
file so personal information is not in the manuscript. Reviewer and author identities are not
disclosed to the other side, and AJS avoids sending papers to people in the submitting author's
network.
Desk-reject / "preject" filter: before peer review, AJS prejects some papers — those not in
dialogue with current sociology, opinion pieces, or current-event interpretations without
original sociological research. Make the manuscript's dialogue with current sociology explicit.
Editorship structure: the article side has three levels of editorship; the editorial board is
the faculty of the University of Chicago Department of Sociology; first-submission reviewer
assignment is handled by a Manuscript Assignment Board of Assistant Editors supervised by
graduate-student Associate Editors who study the blinded manuscript to set substantive area/method.
Submission fee:$30 per new submission; waived for graduate students submitting as sole
authors (proof of status may be requested). Confirm the current amount and waiver workflow on the
official page.
Abstract:~150 words (as close to 150 as possible); must state the question/puzzle, identify
the data, and indicate findings. No abstract → not sent to reviewers.
Length:no fixed word cap; be concise (referees may need more time over ~18,000 words).
Live-check current guidance before upload.
Style:AJS's own author-date house style (name + year; "et al." for 3+); NOT the ASA Style
Guide. Notes start at "1"; acknowledgment note on the cover sheet with an asterisk; footnotes or
endnotes both fine.
Figures:alt text required for every figure at submission, with the captions.
Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for an Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ) manuscript — fit, anonymization, format, exhibits, references, and the editorial-system submission. Checks readiness; it does not write or revise the manuscript.