Use when shaping the prose, structure, and citations of an American Journal of Sociology (AJS) manuscript to AJS's own author-date house style (NOT the ASA Style Guide). AJS rewards theoretically ambitious, generalist-legible writing and has specific notes/references conventions. Polishes the writing; it does not invent content.
SkillScore100Maintained
Automatic
◆Writing & Editing pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 16 of 22 without it.
Without skill73%
With skill100%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Advises defining technical terms in prose
Advises starting substantive text notes at 1
Clarifies that AJS has no fixed hard word cap
and 6 more in the full report
6 fixed16 passed either way0 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+27 pp
Tokens
+38%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-33%
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 6 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 6
Prompt
In what exact sequence should post-text sections be ordered in an American Journal of Sociology submission that includes tables, figures, references, appendices, and notes?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Specifies the post-text sequence as notes, references, tables, figures, then appendices
Missed
Passed
case-10 · 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.md82 linessingle file
Writing & House Style (ajs-writing-style)
AJS uses its own author-date house style — documented in the AJS Manuscript Preparation pages and
Formatting PDF — not the ASA Style Guide that ASA journals (e.g., ASR) require. This is a frequent,
avoidable mistake. Beyond mechanics, AJS prose should be theoretically ambitious and legible to a
generalist sociologist. Verify current style details on the live prep pages before submission.
When to trigger
Polishing the manuscript before ajs-submission
Formatting citations, notes, and references to AJS house style
A reader said the writing was "for specialists only," "buried the contribution," or "mis-styled"
Converting a draft formatted in ASA or another style into AJS house style
AJS house-style mechanics (verify on the live prep pages / PDF)
In-text citation:author-date, name + year in parentheses; "et al." for three or more
authors. (This is AJS's own format — confirm forms against the live pages; it is not the ASA
Style Guide.)
Notes: an acknowledgment note on the cover sheet marked with an asterisk; substantive
notes start at "1" in the text; footnotes or endnotes are both acceptable.
References: full reference list required; periodical entries give full author name, date, article
title, periodical title, volume, and inclusive pages.
Sections order (post-text): notes, references, tables, figures, appendices — in that order.
Write for the discipline (AJS voice)
Lead with the contribution. State the theoretical payoff early; do not make a generalist reader
excavate it.
Explain, don't gesture. Define field-specific terms; a comparativist or ethnographer should be
able to follow a quantitative paper, and vice versa.
Concision over length. AJS has no fixed word cap but explicitly encourages concision, and
referees may need more time for papers over ~18,000 words — long is allowed, not rewarded.
Live-check current length guidance before upload.
The AJS sentence-level prose bar (calibration, hedged)
Craft heuristics for the journal's long-form culture, not graded rules; confirm mechanical specifics against the journal's current submission guidelines.