JACS Workflow Router (jacs-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill; it tells you which
jacs- skill to use for your current stage* of a JACS manuscript.
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, the target is the
Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) — a premier, broad-scope ACS
chemistry journal. The bar is a significant, rigorously characterized chemical
advance of broad interest, with claims fully supported by data and controls.
When to trigger
- "What should I do next?" on a chemistry manuscript
- A draft arrives and you must find the current bottleneck (story, data, format)
- Work is bouncing between synthesis, characterization, figures, and writing
- Referee reports arrived and you need to switch into response/revision mode
Routing table
| Current symptom |
Next skill |
| Unsure whether the advance is broad/significant enough for JACS vs a specialized ACS journal |
jacs-scope-fit |
| Have results but the "so what" / chemical advance is not sharp |
jacs-results-framing |
| Synthesis or characterization may be incomplete (purity, NMR, HRMS, X-ray, controls) |
jacs-methods |
| Schemes/spectra/structures don't look like ACS style or don't carry the story |
jacs-figures |
| Supporting Information missing procedures, spectra copies, CIFs, or CCDC numbers |
jacs-supplementary |
| Prose is vague, over-claimed, or not in ACS house style |
jacs-writing-style |
| Unsure whether to write an Article or a Communication / over length |
jacs-length-management |
| Need a cover letter stating the advance and fit |
jacs-cover-letter |
| Ready to submit; need the Paragon Plus preflight checklist |
jacs-submission |
| Suggesting/excluding reviewers, anticipating referee objections |
jacs-referee-strategy |
| Decision letter / referee reports arrived; need a response strategy |
jacs-revision |
Default order
jacs-scope-fit — confirm broad interest and the right ACS venue/formatjacs-results-framing — pin the chemical advance and its significancejacs-methods — synthesis + full characterization and control/mechanism rigorjacs-figures — schemes, spectra, structures, mechanism figures (ACS style)jacs-supplementary — build the SI (procedures, data, spectra, CIFs/CCDC)jacs-writing-style — ACS house style and claim disciplinejacs-length-management — Article vs Communication; meet ACS format normsjacs-cover-letter — advance + fit statement to the editorjacs-submission — Paragon Plus preflightjacs-referee-strategy — reviewer suggestions + objection pre-emptingjacs-revision — after the decision letter
jacs-writing-style and jacs-length-management are late-stage polish —
do not run them before the data and the advance are solid.
Decision shortcuts
- "Is this big enough for JACS?" →
jacs-scope-fit
- "I have data but no headline" →
jacs-results-framing
- "A reviewer could say my new compound isn't fully characterized" →
jacs-methods
- "My mechanism is asserted, not tested" →
jacs-methods (controls/kinetics/labeling)
- "My scheme is ugly / spectra unreadable" →
jacs-figures
- "Where do the CIFs and FID copies go?" →
jacs-supplementary
- "Communication or Article?" →
jacs-length-management
- "Submitting tomorrow" →
jacs-submission
- "Got three referee reports" →
jacs-revision
Submission package tree
Before running jacs-submission, the working directory should already look like
this — each item maps to the skill that produces it. A missing file tells you
which stage was skipped.
jacs-manuscript/
├── manuscript.docx # main text, ACS house style → jacs-writing-style
│ # type decided (Article vs Comm.) → jacs-length-management
├── figures/
│ ├── scheme-1.tif # reaction scheme, ACS style → jacs-figures
│ ├── figure-1.tif # headline result figure → jacs-figures
│ └── toc-graphic.tif # table-of-contents graphic → jacs-figures
├── supporting-information/
│ ├── SI.pdf # procedures + characterization → jacs-supplementary
│ │ # (purity, NMR, HRMS for new compounds → jacs-methods)
│ ├── spectra/ # copies of NMR spectra → jacs-supplementary
│ └── crystallography/ # CIFs + CCDC deposition numbers → jacs-supplementary
├── cover-letter.pdf # advance + broad-interest fit → jacs-cover-letter
└── reviewers.txt # suggested / excluded reviewers → jacs-referee-strategy
# upload target: ACS Paragon Plus → jacs-submission
Differences vs. specialized ACS journal stacks
If the work is narrow in scope (e.g., a single subfield advance with limited
cross-chemistry interest), a specialized ACS journal (Org. Lett., Inorg.
Chem., Chem. Mater., ACS Catal., J. Org. Chem., etc.) may fit better.
jacs-scope-fit makes that call explicit. JACS rewards advances that matter
across chemistry, not only within one community.
Anti-patterns
- Do not skip
jacs-scope-fit — editors triage on broad interest first.
- Do not let
jacs-figures polish schemes before the characterization (jacs-methods) is complete.
- Do not let
jacs-revision draft a response before you have actually done the new experiments/edits.
1---2name: jacs-workflow3description: Use when deciding which jacs-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing a Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) manuscript from scope check through revision. Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills.4---56# JACS Workflow Router (jacs-workflow)78## Overview910This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill; it tells you **which11jacs-* skill to use for your current stage** of a JACS manuscript.1213Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, the target is the14**Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS)** — a premier, broad-scope ACS15chemistry journal. The bar is a significant, rigorously characterized chemical16advance of broad interest, with claims fully supported by data and controls.1718## When to trigger1920- "What should I do next?" on a chemistry manuscript21- A draft arrives and you must find the current bottleneck (story, data, format)22- Work is bouncing between synthesis, characterization, figures, and writing23- Referee reports arrived and you need to switch into response/revision mode2425## Routing table2627| Current symptom | Next skill |28|-----------------|------------|29| Unsure whether the advance is broad/significant enough for JACS vs a specialized ACS journal | `jacs-scope-fit` |30| Have results but the "so what" / chemical advance is not sharp | `jacs-results-framing` |31| Synthesis or characterization may be incomplete (purity, NMR, HRMS, X-ray, controls) | `jacs-methods` |32| Schemes/spectra/structures don't look like ACS style or don't carry the story | `jacs-figures` |33| Supporting Information missing procedures, spectra copies, CIFs, or CCDC numbers | `jacs-supplementary` |34| Prose is vague, over-claimed, or not in ACS house style | `jacs-writing-style` |35| Unsure whether to write an Article or a Communication / over length | `jacs-length-management` |36| Need a cover letter stating the advance and fit | `jacs-cover-letter` |37| Ready to submit; need the Paragon Plus preflight checklist | `jacs-submission` |38| Suggesting/excluding reviewers, anticipating referee objections | `jacs-referee-strategy` |39| Decision letter / referee reports arrived; need a response strategy | `jacs-revision` |4041## Default order42431. `jacs-scope-fit` — confirm broad interest and the right ACS venue/format442. `jacs-results-framing` — pin the chemical advance and its significance453. `jacs-methods` — synthesis + full characterization and control/mechanism rigor464. `jacs-figures` — schemes, spectra, structures, mechanism figures (ACS style)475. `jacs-supplementary` — build the SI (procedures, data, spectra, CIFs/CCDC)486. `jacs-writing-style` — ACS house style and claim discipline497. `jacs-length-management` — Article vs Communication; meet ACS format norms508. `jacs-cover-letter` — advance + fit statement to the editor519. `jacs-submission` — Paragon Plus preflight5210. `jacs-referee-strategy` — reviewer suggestions + objection pre-empting5311. `jacs-revision` — after the decision letter5455> `jacs-writing-style` and `jacs-length-management` are **late-stage polish** —56> do not run them before the data and the advance are solid.5758## Decision shortcuts5960- "Is this big enough for JACS?" → `jacs-scope-fit`61- "I have data but no headline" → `jacs-results-framing`62- "A reviewer could say my new compound isn't fully characterized" → `jacs-methods`63- "My mechanism is asserted, not tested" → `jacs-methods` (controls/kinetics/labeling)64- "My scheme is ugly / spectra unreadable" → `jacs-figures`65- "Where do the CIFs and FID copies go?" → `jacs-supplementary`66- "Communication or Article?" → `jacs-length-management`67- "Submitting tomorrow" → `jacs-submission`68- "Got three referee reports" → `jacs-revision`6970## Submission package tree7172Before running `jacs-submission`, the working directory should already look like73this — each item maps to the skill that produces it. A missing file tells you74which stage was skipped.7576```text77jacs-manuscript/78├── manuscript.docx # main text, ACS house style → jacs-writing-style79│ # type decided (Article vs Comm.) → jacs-length-management80├── figures/81│ ├── scheme-1.tif # reaction scheme, ACS style → jacs-figures82│ ├── figure-1.tif # headline result figure → jacs-figures83│ └── toc-graphic.tif # table-of-contents graphic → jacs-figures84├── supporting-information/85│ ├── SI.pdf # procedures + characterization → jacs-supplementary86│ │ # (purity, NMR, HRMS for new compounds → jacs-methods)87│ ├── spectra/ # copies of NMR spectra → jacs-supplementary88│ └── crystallography/ # CIFs + CCDC deposition numbers → jacs-supplementary89├── cover-letter.pdf # advance + broad-interest fit → jacs-cover-letter90└── reviewers.txt # suggested / excluded reviewers → jacs-referee-strategy91# upload target: ACS Paragon Plus → jacs-submission92```9394## Differences vs. specialized ACS journal stacks9596If the work is narrow in scope (e.g., a single subfield advance with limited97cross-chemistry interest), a specialized ACS journal (*Org. Lett.*, *Inorg.98Chem.*, *Chem. Mater.*, *ACS Catal.*, *J. Org. Chem.*, etc.) may fit better.99`jacs-scope-fit` makes that call explicit. JACS rewards advances that matter100**across chemistry**, not only within one community.101102## Anti-patterns103104- **Do not** skip `jacs-scope-fit` — editors triage on broad interest first.105- **Do not** let `jacs-figures` polish schemes before the characterization (`jacs-methods`) is complete.106- **Do not** let `jacs-revision` draft a response before you have actually done the new experiments/edits.
brycewang-stanford