Ectj Writing Style

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>

Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → The-Econometrics-Journal-Skills/skills/ectj-writing-style/SKILL.md