| name | ectj-writing-style |
| description | Use when revising a The Econometrics Journal (EctJ) manuscript for compact RES/OUP style covering the 150-word summary, the roughly 20-page printed-paper discipline, theorem readability, one-page simulation summaries, applied-value clarity, and template-conformant prose that survives the desk screen. |
EctJ Writing Style
Use this when the paper is correct but too diffuse for EctJ.
Style rules
- Write the summary in no more than the current word limit; RES guidance states a 150-word
summary.
- Keep the paper near the current printed-paper cap; RES guidance says manuscripts should not
normally exceed 20 pages including the printed appendix.
- Use the RES/EctJ LaTeX template and the separate online-appendix template when applicable.
- Put assumptions close to the theorem or estimator they support.
- Prefer short theorem interpretation paragraphs over long verbal restatements of algebra.
- Cut general econometrics motivation that does not help the leading case.
- Summarize simulation results compactly in the main text, normally within about one page,
pushing full grids to the appendix.
- Treat conformance as part of the science: EctJ instructions state that submissions not
conforming to the guidelines are rejected routinely, so style and format are a screen,
not cosmetics.
Compression moves
- Replace broad motivation with the econometric failure mode in the first paragraph.
- Replace a long literature survey with a closest-paper contrast table or two compact paragraphs.
- Convert repeated theorem intuition into one theorem interpretation paragraph after the statement.
- Move full simulation grids to the supplement and keep only the table that identifies the boundary case.
- Put empirical application details after the method has earned them; the application proves value, not
venue fit by itself.
EctJ page-budget pass
Before line editing, build a one-page ledger:
- Opening claim: one paragraph that names the econometric object, the failure of existing tools, and
the leading-case result.
- Theory core: every assumption, theorem, proof sketch, and interpretation paragraph must have a
visible job. If a proof step is essential to credibility, keep it in the printed paper or printed
appendix rather than hiding it behind supplementary detail.
- Simulation core: keep the design that tests the sharpest assumption or approximation. Push
alternative grids, tuning sweeps, and robustness tables to the online appendix.
- Application core: state why the empirical illustration is diagnostic for the method; remove
institutional background that does not change interpretation of the estimator, test, or procedure.
- Related work: keep citations near the claim they discipline. A citation that does not define the
incumbent method, the relaxed assumption, or the applied use case is a cut candidate.
After the ledger, revise in this order: summary, introduction, theorem statements, simulation captions,
application paragraph, then appendix cross-references. This catches the highest-friction EctJ style
problems before sentence polishing.
Theorem-prose conventions for RES/OUP print
- State assumptions as numbered, referenced objects ("Assumption 3 fails when...") so the
interpretation paragraphs can point at them; unnamed inline conditions cannot be audited within
a compact paper.
- After each theorem, write one paragraph answering three questions: what the result lets an
applied user do, which assumption does the real work, and where the simulation confirms the
finite-sample counterpart.
- Notation is a budget item: a symbol introduced for one equation is a cut candidate; the EctJ
page discipline rewards reusing standard notation from the closest published treatment.
- Write simulation prose as findings, not procedure ("coverage stays near nominal until the rate
condition fails at n=250" — illustrative phrasing), since design details belong to notes and
the supplement under the one-page summary norm.
Page-leak patterns
Three sentence-level habits consume EctJ pages fastest: restating the theorem in words directly
after its formal statement; defending each assumption against every conceivable objection rather
than the one a referee will actually raise; and narrating the application's institutional history.
Each deleted instance typically buys back a paragraph; across a draft this is often the difference
between 22 printed pages and a conforming 19.
Output format
[Style diagnosis] compact / too long / too abstract / under-applied
[Summary fix] <150-word target or revision notes>
[Page compression] <move, cut, or merge>
[Template risk] <style, appendix, proof placement>
[Clarity edit] <specific paragraph fix>
