| name | writing-preferences |
| category | profile |
| discipline | general |
| description | Writing style preferences including language, tone, voice, and paragraph structure |
Writing Preferences
When to Use
Loaded by the Academic Writer agent to match the researcher's writing style. Also referenced by the Quality Reviewer to evaluate style consistency and by the Methodology Agent when generating protocol descriptions.
Preferences Template
Fill in each field below. Where options are listed, select one or specify your own.
Language
- Primary Language: (e.g., English, Turkish, German, Mandarin)
- Secondary Language: (for bilingual manuscripts, if applicable)
- English Variant: (American / British / N/A)
- Spelling Convention: (e.g., "analyze" vs "analyse", "randomized" vs "randomised")
Voice and Tone
- Voice: (Active / Passive / Mixed)
- Active: "We performed the analysis..."
- Passive: "The analysis was performed..."
- Mixed: Active in Introduction/Discussion, Passive in Methods/Results
- Tone: (Formal / Technical / Accessible / Conversational)
- Formal: Standard for medical and natural science journals
- Technical: Dense terminology, assumes expert audience
- Accessible: Explains jargon, suitable for interdisciplinary audiences
- Person: (First person plural "we" / Third person / Impersonal)
- Hedging Level: (Conservative / Moderate / Direct)
- Conservative: "This may suggest..." / "It is possible that..."
- Moderate: "These findings suggest..." / "This indicates..."
- Direct: "This demonstrates..." / "This confirms..."
Citation Style
- Preferred Style: (AMA / APA / IEEE / Vancouver / Chicago / Harvard / Other)
- In-Text Format: (Superscript numbers / Bracketed numbers / Author-year)
- Self-Citation Policy: (Minimize / Include when relevant / No restriction)
Structure and Formatting
- Paragraph Length: (Short: 3-5 sentences / Medium: 5-8 sentences / Long: 8+ sentences)
- Sentence Length Preference: (Concise / Moderate / Complex)
- Section Ordering: (Standard IMRAD / Custom — specify below)
- Custom Section Order: (if applicable)
- Subsection Depth: (2 levels / 3 levels / 4 levels)
- Use of Bullet Points: (Minimal / Moderate / Frequent)
Abbreviations
- Abbreviation Policy: (Define on first use / Use standard abbreviations freely / Minimize abbreviations)
- Common Abbreviations to Always Use: (e.g., CI, OR, RR, HR, SD, IQR, BMI, DNA, RNA, AI, ML)
- Abbreviations to Always Spell Out: (list any the researcher prefers unabbreviated)
- Abbreviation in Titles: (Allow / Avoid)
- Abbreviation in Abstracts: (Define again / Carry from title)
Numbers and Units
- Number Spelling Threshold: (Spell out below 10 / Spell out below 20 / Always use numerals)
- Unit System: (SI / Imperial / Field-specific)
- Decimal Separator: (Period / Comma)
- Thousands Separator: (Comma / Period / Space / None)
- p-Value Reporting: (Exact values / Threshold only, e.g., p<0.05 / Both)
- Decimal Places for Statistics: (2 / 3 / As appropriate)
Figures and Tables
- Table Style: (Minimal/three-line / Full grid / Journal-specific)
- Figure Caption Style: (Descriptive / Brief title + legend)
- Color Preference: (Grayscale-compatible / Full color / Colorblind-safe palette)
Miscellaneous
- Oxford Comma: (Yes / No)
- Latinisms: (Use "et al.", "e.g.", "i.e." / Spell out equivalents)
- Data as Singular or Plural: (Singular: "data is" / Plural: "data are")
- Percent Symbol: (% with numeral / "percent" spelled out)
How Agents Use These Preferences
- Academic Writer: Applies all preferences when drafting manuscript sections
- Quality Reviewer: Checks manuscript against these preferences for consistency
- Citation Manager: Formats references according to the selected citation style
- Methodology Agent: Uses voice and tone settings when writing protocol sections
References
