sf-writing-style

Writing Style (sf-writing-style)

A Social Forces paper must be readable by a social scientist outside its subfield, formatted to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (author-date), and disciplined to a cap that — unusually — counts the reference list: ≤ 10,000 words including text, endnotes, and references. This skill is about reaching a general audience and respecting that format, not generating claims.

When to trigger

• Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish
• Over the word cap and needing to cut (remember: references count)
• Writing the abstract (English, no references; ~150-200 words is a safe target — exact cap 待核实)
• Aligning citations/headings/format to Chicago 17th author-date before submission

Reach a general social-science audience

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 social science broadly.
2. Minimize subfield jargon or define it on first use; spell out acronyms. A reader outside your subfield — and outside sociology — should be able to follow.
3. Argument-first prose. Lead with claims; use evidence to support them. Avoid "the data show…" without saying what they show and why it matters.
4. Signpost. Clear section structure so a reader can navigate the argument quickly.

Format to Chicago 17th (author-date)

• Citations: author-date per the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, at final submission (any readable style is accepted at first submission). Keep one consistent style (manage with Zotero/BibTeX).
• This is not the ASA Style Guide (ASR) and not an in-house style (AJS) — match SF's Chicago requirement specifically.
• Anonymize: SF is double-anonymized — keep names, affiliations, acknowledgements, and funding details out of the manuscript and on a separate title page (see sf-submission).
• Abstract: English, no references.

Fit the cap (it INCLUDES references)

• The reference list counts, so trim redundant citation strings and avoid citation padding — this is the single most distinctive SF length constraint.
• Move balance tables, full specs, and extended robustness to the supplementary materials (≤ 10 pages); keep the article's exhibits within the 10-panel cap (see sf-tables-figures).
• Cut throat-clearing and literature dumps; engage the debate, not every paper (see sf-literature-positioning).
• Tighten endnotes — they count too.

Anti-patterns

• A subfield-insider intro that never states general significance
• Forgetting references count, then discovering you are 1,500 words over at the end
• Formatting to ASA or an in-house style instead of Chicago 17th author-date
• Acknowledgements or self-references left in the manuscript (breaks anonymity)
• An abstract that includes references or hides the finding

Prose gate for a general-sociology reader

Social Forces is read across sociology — stratification, demography, work, family, culture, networks, religion — so the prose must carry a non-specialist over the threshold quickly. A practical word-budget and clarity gate:

Symptom	SF-specific fix	Why it matters here
Contribution surfaces on page 6	State question + argument + stakes by end of intro	Referees decide fit early
Reference list is 1,800 words	Trim redundant citation strings; cite anchors once	Refs count toward the 10,000-word cap
Subfield jargon undefined	Define on first use; spell out acronyms	Audience spans the discipline
"The data show…" with no claim	Lead with the claim, support with data	Argument-first prose reads broad

Calibration (hedged): the cap is roughly 10,000 words including text, endnotes, and references, with Chicago 17th-edition author-date required at final submission and an English abstract without references (150-200 words is usually safe). Confirm exact word and abstract limits against current guidelines.

Worked vignette (illustrative)

A religion-and-civic-participation paper comes in at 11,400 words: 9,200 of text and 2,200 of references (illustrative). Rather than gut the analysis, the author trims 600 words of literature-dump prose, collapses three multi-citation strings into single anchors (about 500 reference words), and moves a methods appendix to the supplement (another 300) — landing near 10,000 with the argument intact. The lesson SF rewards: the reference list is a budget line, not free text.

Referee fixes: "reads as an insider paper" → rewrite the opening so a non-sociologist sees the stakes; "over the word cap" → cut throat-clearing, consolidate citations (refs count), tighten endnotes.

Output format

【Contribution stated by end of intro?】[Y/N]
【Reads for a general audience?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N]
【Abstract】word count + no references? [Y/N]
【Word count】≤ 10,000 INCLUDING text + endnotes + references? [Y/N]
【Chicago 17th author-date + anonymized】[Y/N]
【Next】sf-data-and-transparency

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — word cap (incl. references), Chicago 17th author-date, anonymization