---
name: asr-writing-style
description: Use when drafting or polishing an American Sociological Review (ASR) manuscript so it reads for the whole discipline, follows the ASA Style Guide, and fits the limits (Articles <= 15,000 words including text, references, and footnotes; abstract 150-200 words). Tightens prose and format; it does not invent content.
---

# Writing Style (asr-writing-style)

An ASR paper must be readable by a sociologist outside its subfield, formatted to the **ASA Style
Guide**, and disciplined to a word cap **that includes the reference list**. This skill is about
reaching the discipline and respecting the format — not generating claims.

## When to trigger

- Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish
- Over the word cap and needing to cut without losing the argument
- Writing the **150-200 word** abstract
- Aligning citations, headings, and format to the ASA Style Guide

## Reach the whole discipline

1. **Front-load the contribution.** By the end of the introduction the reader knows the question, the
   argument, the evidence, and why it matters to sociology broadly.
2. **Minimize subfield jargon** or define it on first use; spell out acronyms; an ethnographer should
   follow a demographic paper and vice versa.
3. **Argument-first prose.** Lead with claims; use evidence to support them. Make the mechanism and
   concept (from `asr-theory-building`) explicit.
4. **Signpost** with clear section structure.

## Format to the ASA Style Guide

- **Citations**: author-date per the ASA Style Guide; keep one consistent style (manage with
  Zotero/BibTeX). **References count toward the 15,000-word limit.**
- **Manuscript**: **double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt, ≥1-inch margins**; include a **word count**.
- **Masking**: no title page in the manuscript; a **separate title page** carries affiliations,
  acknowledgments, and contact. You **may cite your own work** but must not word it to identify
  yourself ("in our prior study" → "in a prior study").
- **Abstract**: **150-200 words**, with no identifying information.

## Fit the word cap (incl. text + references + footnotes; tables/figures excluded)

- Tighten the literature review — engage the debate, not every paper (see `asr-literature-positioning`).
- **References count**, so prune redundant citations and over-long reference strings.
- Tighten footnotes — they count.
- Move extended detail to supplementary materials where appropriate; keep the article focused.

## Anti-patterns

- A subfield-insider intro that never states broad significance
- Burying the contribution mid-paper
- An abstract outside 150-200 words or one that hides the finding
- Self-references worded so they break masking
- Treating references as "free" — they count toward 15,000 words

## Output format

```
【Contribution stated by end of intro?】[Y/N]
【Reads past the subfield?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N]
【Abstract】word count (150-200), non-identifying?
【Word count】Article ≤ 15,000 incl. text + references + footnotes?
【ASA style + masked + separate title page】[Y/N]
【Next】asr-data-and-transparency
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — word/abstract caps, ASA Style Guide, masking, formatting