Writing Style (crim-writing-style)
A Criminology paper must be readable across the field's disciplines (sociology, psychology,
criminal justice, economics), formatted to the journal's APA-based style, and written in
bias-free, person-first language. This skill is about reaching the field and respecting the format
— not about generating claims.
When to trigger
- Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish
- Aligning citations/headings/format to the journal's APA-based style
- Checking language about offenders, victims, and justice-involved people
- Tightening prose before submission
Reach the interdisciplinary field
- Front-load the contribution. By the end of the introduction the reader knows the question, the
theory, the design, and why it matters to criminology. Don't make a reader dig for the "so what."
- Lead with the mechanism, not the dataset. Frame around the criminological argument; the data are
evidence for it, not the point of the paper.
- Minimize within-discipline jargon or define it on first use; a developmental psychologist and a
criminal-justice scholar should both follow the paper. Spell out acronyms (UCR, NIBRS, NCVS, GBTM).
- Signpost. Clear theory → design → results → implications structure.
Format to the journal's APA-based style
- Citations: the journal uses a form of APA; for anything unspecified, follow APA (6th ed.) —
author-date in text, an alphabetical reference list. Keep one consistent style (manage with Zotero/BibTeX).
- Manuscript: prepare an anonymized main document plus a separate title page (the review
model is double anonymized). Include a short author biography per author on the title page
(< 100 words each).
- Formatting: double-space everything (text, notes, tables, references); follow current Wiley
online submission file requirements.
- Length / abstract: no numeric cap is encoded here; confirm on the live author-guidelines page and
stay within it.
Bias-free, person-first language (a Criminology expectation)
- Follow APA bias-free language guidance. Prefer "people who committed an offense," "people who were
incarcerated," "people who experienced victimization" over stigmatizing labels ("offenders," "felons,"
"victims" as identities) where feasible.
- Apply the same care when discussing race, ethnicity, and the criminal-legal system.
Anti-patterns
- An intro that describes a dataset before stating the criminological question
- Burying the theoretical contribution in the middle of the paper
- Mixed citation styles; self-references or acknowledgments that break anonymity in the main document
- Stigmatizing labels for justice-involved people
- Unspelled acronyms that exclude readers from other disciplines
Style execution pass for Criminology
Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the crime/justice process, measurement validity, research design, and policy consequence; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: criminology reviewers who expect theory-linked crime, justice, or harm mechanisms plus transparent measurement.
- Do the pass: Rewrite the first two pages so each paragraph starts from the venue-level claim, not from chronology or method inventory; preserve exact source-map limits and move technical overflow to appendix or supplement.
- Return a ledger: give
claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
- Sibling guard: compare against Justice Quarterly for applied justice, Journal of Quantitative Criminology for methods focus, Social Problems for broader sociological framing; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
- Stop condition: do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's
resources/official-source-map.md has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.
Output format
【Contribution + theory stated by end of intro?】[Y/N]
【Reads across disciplines?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N]
【APA-based style consistent】[Y/N]
【Anonymized main doc + separate title page】[Y/N]
【Bias-free / person-first language】[Y/N]
【Length/abstract within live cap】[Y/N]
【Next】crim-data-and-transparency
Supplementary resources
1---2name: crim-writing-style3description: Use when drafting or polishing a Criminology (ASC / Wiley) manuscript so it reads for an interdisciplinary criminology audience, follows the journal's APA-based style, and uses bias-free, person-first language for justice-involved populations. Tightens prose and format; it does not invent content.4---56# Writing Style (crim-writing-style)78A *Criminology* paper must be readable across the field's disciplines (sociology, psychology,9criminal justice, economics), formatted to the journal's **APA-based style**, and written in10**bias-free, person-first language**. This skill is about reaching the field and respecting the format11— not about generating claims.1213## When to trigger1415- Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish16- Aligning citations/headings/format to the journal's APA-based style17- Checking language about offenders, victims, and justice-involved people18- Tightening prose before submission1920## Reach the interdisciplinary field21221. **Front-load the contribution.** By the end of the introduction the reader knows the question, the23 theory, the design, and why it matters to criminology. Don't make a reader dig for the "so what."242. **Lead with the mechanism, not the dataset.** Frame around the criminological argument; the data are25 evidence for it, not the point of the paper.263. **Minimize within-discipline jargon** or define it on first use; a developmental psychologist and a27 criminal-justice scholar should both follow the paper. Spell out acronyms (UCR, NIBRS, NCVS, GBTM).284. **Signpost.** Clear theory → design → results → implications structure.2930## Format to the journal's APA-based style3132- **Citations**: the journal uses **a form of APA**; for anything unspecified, follow **APA (6th ed.)** —33 author-date in text, an alphabetical reference list. Keep one consistent style (manage with Zotero/BibTeX).34- **Manuscript**: prepare an **anonymized main document** plus a **separate title page** (the review35 model is double anonymized). Include a short author biography per author on the title page36 (< 100 words each).37- **Formatting**: double-space everything (text, notes, tables, references); follow current Wiley38 online submission file requirements.39- **Length / abstract**: no numeric cap is encoded here; confirm on the live author-guidelines page and40 stay within it.4142## Bias-free, person-first language (a Criminology expectation)4344- Follow **APA bias-free language** guidance. Prefer "people who committed an offense," "people who were45 incarcerated," "people who experienced victimization" over stigmatizing labels ("offenders," "felons,"46 "victims" as identities) where feasible.47- Apply the same care when discussing race, ethnicity, and the criminal-legal system.4849## Anti-patterns5051- An intro that describes a dataset before stating the criminological question52- Burying the theoretical contribution in the middle of the paper53- Mixed citation styles; self-references or acknowledgments that break anonymity in the main document54- Stigmatizing labels for justice-involved people55- Unspelled acronyms that exclude readers from other disciplines565758## Style execution pass for Criminology5960Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the crime/justice process, measurement validity, research design, and policy consequence; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: criminology reviewers who expect theory-linked crime, justice, or harm mechanisms plus transparent measurement.6162- **Do the pass:** Rewrite the first two pages so each paragraph starts from the venue-level claim, not from chronology or method inventory; preserve exact source-map limits and move technical overflow to appendix or supplement.63- **Return a ledger:** give `claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location` rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.64- **Sibling guard:** compare against Justice Quarterly for applied justice, Journal of Quantitative Criminology for methods focus, Social Problems for broader sociological framing; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.65- **Stop condition:** do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's `resources/official-source-map.md` has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.6667## Output format6869```70【Contribution + theory stated by end of intro?】[Y/N]71【Reads across disciplines?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N]72【APA-based style consistent】[Y/N]73【Anonymized main doc + separate title page】[Y/N]74【Bias-free / person-first language】[Y/N]75【Length/abstract within live cap】[Y/N]76【Next】crim-data-and-transparency77```7879## Supplementary resources8081- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers and APA-style tooling82- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — APA-based style, double-anonymized review, bias-free language, live length/abstract guardrail
brycewang-stanford