ahr-writing-style

Writing Style (ahr-writing-style)

The AHR is read by historians of every period and place. Its best articles are written in clear, authoritative, narrative-aware prose that a specialist in another field can follow with pleasure. This skill is about voice and readability — not about generating claims (that is ahr-argument-development) or formatting notes (that is ahr-citation-and-style).

When to trigger

• Drafting the introduction or polishing a full draft
• The prose is dense with jargon or buries the argument
• Quotations and evidence are dropped in without framing
• Aligning tense, voice, and terminology before submission

Writing for the whole discipline

1. Lead with the idea. Each paragraph should advance the argument; the reader should never have to reconstruct your point from a thicket of detail.
2. Minimize jargon; define terms of art. A historian of another field should follow your argument. Translate insider vocabulary or explain it on first use.
3. Frame your evidence. Introduce a quotation, say what to notice, then interpret it — never let a block quote do the arguing for you.
4. Control tense and voice. Narrate the past in the past tense; keep an authoritative but not inflated voice; prefer active, concrete sentences.
5. Tell the story while you argue. History rewards narrative momentum; carry the reader through time while the analysis accrues (see ahr-structure-and-exposition).
6. Quote with care. Reproduce sources accurately; use ellipses and brackets honestly; translate where wording matters and note the translation.

Mechanics the AHR expects

• Manuscript format: Word document, 8½ × 11, Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, numbered pages — and masked (no identifying details) for anonymous review.
• Style authority: Chicago Manual of Style for prose and notes (see ahr-citation-and-style).
• Length: ideally ≤ 8,000 words of text (notes/tables/charts excluded; verify current figure).

Anti-patterns

• An introduction heavy with background that never states the argument
• Theory-speak or subfield jargon that locks out other historians
• Block quotations left to "speak for themselves"
• Present-tense narration of past events; passive, abstract sentences
• Inflated, self-important voice that distracts from the evidence

Output format

【Argument visible early?】[Y/N]
【Reads past the subfield?】jargon defined / terms explained? [Y/N]
【Evidence framed?】quotations introduced + interpreted? [Y/N]
【Tense + voice】past tense, active, controlled? [Y/N]
【Format】Word / TNR 12 / double-spaced / masked? [Y/N]
【Next】ahr-citation-and-style

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — drafting tools and the Chicago Manual of Style
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — AHR formatting and length requirements