---
name: ylj-revision-and-editing
description: Use when working through The Yale Law Journal (YLJ) post-acceptance editing cycle and answering author queries, or when preparing a shorter YLJ Forum piece. It covers the intensive student edit + the online companion path; it does not run the final cite verification (ylj-footnotes-and-cite-check).
---

# Revision & Editing (ylj-revision-and-editing)

Acceptance at YLJ begins an **intensive, multi-round student edit**. Editors will substantively engage
the argument, restructure for clarity, query every doubtful assertion, and (via source-pull) verify
every footnote. This skill manages that cycle and the **YLJ Forum** online-companion path. The
line-by-line cite verification it triggers is `ylj-footnotes-and-cite-check`.

## When to trigger

- A piece was accepted and the editing cycle is starting
- You are answering a batch of author queries from student editors
- A substantive edit threatens your argument and you must push back constructively
- You are preparing a **Forum** piece (shorter, faster, often a response to a print article)

## The print edit cycle (what to expect)

| Round | Editors do | You do |
|-------|-----------|--------|
| **Substantive / structural** | Test the argument; flag gaps, overclaims, unaddressed objections | Tighten the claim; add the missing step; defend or concede |
| **Source-pull** | Verify every footnote: existence, Bluebook form, support | Resolve queries; supply pinpoints; fix unsupported cites |
| **Line edit** | Sentence-level clarity, consistency, house style | Preserve meaning; accept clarity edits; flag any that change the law |
| **Technical / proof** | Bluebook conformity, cross-references, typesetting | Final read; confirm nothing shifted in your argument |

## Working the cycle well

- **Engage, don't resist.** Student editors improve pieces; treat substantive queries as free peer
  review. Concede where they're right; that builds trust for the edits that matter.
- **Protect the law.** A clarity edit that subtly misstates a holding is the one place to push back
  firmly — flag it, explain the doctrinal stakes, propose alternative wording.
- **Answer queries precisely.** For each query give the pinpoint, the quotation, or the correction —
  not "trust me." Vague answers generate more queries.
- **Keep a clean change log.** Track what each round changed so the argument stays coherent end-to-end.

## Query-response ledger

Treat every editor query as a small validation gate. For each query, record:

| Field | Decision |
|-------|----------|
| **Query type** | Doctrine / source support / Bluebook form / structure / prose / scope |
| **Risk level** | High if the edit changes the legal rule, holding, remedy, or claim scope |
| **Response evidence** | Pinpoint, quote, corrected sentence, or concession |
| **Action** | Accept / accept with revised wording / push back with alternative / revise claim |
| **Follow-up** | Cite-check, cross-reference update, or Part-map update needed |

The default is to accept clarity edits. Push back only when the edit changes the law, removes a
necessary limitation, or breaks the claim's logic. When pushing back, propose replacement language in
the same message so the editor has a clean path forward.

## The YLJ Forum path

- The **Forum** is YLJ's online companion (the Journal was the first leading law review to launch one;
  relaunched as the Forum in 2014) for **short, timely** pieces and **responses** to print articles
  (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).
- Encouraged length **< 10,000 words incl. footnotes** (~20 pages); turnaround is faster than print.
- A Forum response still needs a real claim, full Bluebook footnotes, and source-pull — "online" does
  not mean "informal."
- If your idea is timely (a new opinion, a live debate) or directly answers a recent YLJ article,
  consider the Forum over print.

## Checklist

- [ ] Each round's edits absorbed without breaking the argument's spine
- [ ] Every author query answered with a pinpoint/quote/correction, not assertion
- [ ] Any clarity edit that misstates the law flagged and corrected
- [ ] Change log kept; argument coherent end-to-end
- [ ] (Forum) claim + full apparatus present despite the faster cycle

## Anti-patterns

- Treating substantive editor queries as adversarial rather than as free review
- Accepting a smooth line edit that quietly misdescribes a holding
- Answering source-pull queries with "it's in there somewhere" instead of a pinpoint
- Assuming a Forum piece can skip Bluebook rigor because it's online
- Letting accumulated edits drift the argument off its original claim

## Output format

```
【Stage】substantive / source-pull / line edit / proof / Forum
【Queries open】count + the hard ones
【Query ledger】high-risk edits classified and answered with evidence? Y/N
【Law-integrity risk】any edit that misstates a holding? flagged? Y/N
【Argument coherence】spine intact after edits? Y/N
【Next】ylj-footnotes-and-cite-check for the final cite verification
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — Forum history, length, and process facts
- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — change-tracking and citation tools for the edit cycle