---
name: crim-writing-style
description: Use when drafting or polishing a Criminology (ASC / Wiley) manuscript so it reads for an interdisciplinary criminology audience, follows the journal's APA-based style, and uses bias-free, person-first language for justice-involved populations. Tightens prose and format; it does not invent content.
---

# Writing Style (crim-writing-style)

A *Criminology* paper must be readable across the field's disciplines (sociology, psychology,
criminal justice, economics), formatted to the journal's **APA-based style**, and written in
**bias-free, person-first language**. This skill is about reaching the field and respecting the format
— not about generating claims.

## When to trigger

- Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish
- Aligning citations/headings/format to the journal's APA-based style
- Checking language about offenders, victims, and justice-involved people
- Tightening prose before submission

## Reach the interdisciplinary field

1. **Front-load the contribution.** By the end of the introduction the reader knows the question, the
   theory, the design, and why it matters to criminology. Don't make a reader dig for the "so what."
2. **Lead with the mechanism, not the dataset.** Frame around the criminological argument; the data are
   evidence for it, not the point of the paper.
3. **Minimize within-discipline jargon** or define it on first use; a developmental psychologist and a
   criminal-justice scholar should both follow the paper. Spell out acronyms (UCR, NIBRS, NCVS, GBTM).
4. **Signpost.** Clear theory → design → results → implications structure.

## Format to the journal's APA-based style

- **Citations**: the journal uses **a form of APA**; for anything unspecified, follow **APA (6th ed.)** —
  author-date in text, an alphabetical reference list. Keep one consistent style (manage with Zotero/BibTeX).
- **Manuscript**: prepare an **anonymized main document** plus a **separate title page** (the review
  workflow is blinded — confirm exact wording, 待核实). Include a short author biography per author on the
  title page (< 100 words each).
- **Formatting**: double-space everything (text, notes, tables, references); follow current Wiley
  Research Exchange file requirements.
- **Length / abstract**: a specific word/page cap and abstract length for *Criminology* are 待核实 — confirm
  on the live author-guidelines page and stay within it.

## Bias-free, person-first language (a Criminology expectation)

- Follow **APA bias-free language** guidance. Prefer "people who committed an offense," "people who were
  incarcerated," "people who experienced victimization" over stigmatizing labels ("offenders," "felons,"
  "victims" as identities) where feasible.
- Apply the same care when discussing race, ethnicity, and the criminal-legal system.

## Anti-patterns

- An intro that describes a dataset before stating the criminological question
- Burying the theoretical contribution in the middle of the paper
- Mixed citation styles; self-references or acknowledgments that break anonymity in the main document
- Stigmatizing labels for justice-involved people
- Unspelled acronyms that exclude readers from other disciplines


## Style execution pass for Criminology

Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the crime/justice process, measurement validity, research design, and policy consequence; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: criminology reviewers who expect theory-linked crime, justice, or harm mechanisms plus transparent measurement.

- **Do the pass:** Rewrite the first two pages so each paragraph starts from the venue-level claim, not from chronology or method inventory; preserve exact source-map limits and move technical overflow to appendix or supplement.
- **Return a ledger:** give `claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location` rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
- **Sibling guard:** compare against Justice Quarterly for applied justice, Journal of Quantitative Criminology for methods focus, Social Problems for broader sociological framing; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
- **Stop condition:** do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's `resources/official-source-map.md` has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.

## Output format

```
【Contribution + theory stated by end of intro?】[Y/N]
【Reads across disciplines?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N]
【APA-based style consistent】[Y/N]
【Anonymized main doc + separate title page】[Y/N]
【Bias-free / person-first language】[Y/N]
【Length/abstract within cap (待核实)】[Y/N]
【Next】crim-data-and-transparency
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers and APA-style tooling
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — APA-based style, anonymized document, bias-free language, length/abstract (待核实)