From sf-skills
Formats Social Forces manuscripts to Chicago 17th author-date, tightens prose for a general social-science audience, and fits the 10,000-word cap that includes references.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/sf-skills:sf-writing-styleThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
A Social Forces paper must be readable by a social scientist outside its subfield, formatted to the
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.
sf-submission).sf-tables-figures).sf-literature-positioning).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.
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.
【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
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