# Govern Writing Style > Use when drafting or polishing a Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions manuscript so it reads for a comparative/international public-administration and political-science audience, front-loads the contribution, and fits the caps (≤ 9,000 words excluding citations; ~150-word abstract). Tightens prose and framing; it does not invent content. - Skill: `thedixitjain/govern-writing-style` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/govern-writing-style` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/govern-writing-style/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/govern-writing-style --- # Writing Style (govern-writing-style) A *Governance* paper must be readable by a comparativist, a public-administration scholar, and a policy researcher at once — and it must persuade them the finding teaches something about **how the state governs**, not just what happened in one administration. The recurring rejection note at this journal is "competent but parochial." This skill is about reaching that comparative/international readership and respecting the format — not about generating claims. ## When to trigger - Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or doing the final polish - Over the word cap and needing to cut without losing the argument - Writing the **~150-word abstract** - Aligning citations, headings, and format to the journal/Wiley guidelines before submission ## Reach the comparative/international readership 1. **Front-load the contribution.** By the end of the introduction the reader knows the question, the argument, the evidence, and why it matters for understanding governing across cases. Do not make a reader dig for the "so what." 2. **Comparative framing, not single-country parochialism.** Even a single-case paper must say what the case is a case *of* and what the claim should predict elsewhere. Name the general mechanism (delegation, blame avoidance, layering, policy feedback, bureaucratic autonomy) so a reader in another country or domain can use it. 3. **Define jargon on first use.** A comparativist should follow a public-administration paper and vice versa; spell out acronyms and country-specific institutional terms (do not assume everyone knows what a "non-departmental public body" or a "Länder" arrangement is). 4. **Argument-first prose.** Lead with claims; use evidence to support them. Avoid "the data show…" without saying what they show and why it matters for the theory of the state. 5. **Signpost.** Clear section structure so a reader can navigate the argument across cases. ## Format to the journal's guidelines - **Citations**: author-date style is typical for the field; confirm the exact style on the live Wiley/ journal guidelines page and keep it consistent (manage with Zotero/BibTeX). References are excluded from the word count. (待核实 — verify the precise reference style on the current author guidelines.) - **Title page**: separate, non-anonymous file with the word count; corresponding author gives an **ORCID iD** per Wiley norms (待核实). - **Anonymize**: *Governance* is **double-blind** — no author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the manuscript, no obvious self-references ("as we showed in…"), and strip identifying file metadata (see `govern-submission`). - **Abstract**: **~150 words**, stating the question, the comparative approach, and the finding. ## Fit the word cap (≤ 9,000 words excluding citations/bibliography; 检索于 2026-06；以官网为准) - Treat **9,000 words excluding citations/bibliography** as the working cap (a third-party listing cites 3,000–5,000; treat the official 9,000 as binding, 待核实). - Move balance tables, full specifications, and extended robustness to **supplementary material**. - Cut throat-clearing and literature dumps; engage the debate, not every paper (see `govern-literature-positioning`). - Prefer one decisive comparative figure to three redundant tables (see `govern-tables-figures`). - Do not pad a sharp comparative point into a sprawling multi-country, multi-outcome design. ## Checklist - [ ] Contribution (question + argument + evidence + so-what) stated by the end of the introduction - [ ] The case is framed as a case *of* something general; the mechanism is named and portable - [ ] Acronyms spelled out; country-specific institutional terms defined on first use - [ ] Abstract ~150 words, stating question + comparative approach + finding - [ ] Manuscript ≤ 9,000 words excluding citations/bibliography; supplement holds the overflow - [ ] Author-date citations consistent per the live guidelines; references excluded from the count - [ ] Double-blind clean (no names/affiliations/acknowledgments/self-references); title page separate ## Anti-patterns - A single-country administrative narrative that never states what the case is a case *of* - Burying the contribution in the middle of the paper - An abstract that hides the finding or drifts well past ~150 words - Unexplained country-specific institutional jargon that locks out non-area readers - Mixed citation styles; acknowledgments or self-references that break double-blind anonymity - Letting the manuscript creep past 9,000 words with material that belongs in the supplement ## Output format ``` 【Contribution stated by end of intro?】[Y/N] 【Comparative framing?】case-of-what named; mechanism portable? [Y/N] 【Reads across PA + comparative + policy?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N] 【Abstract】word count (~150) 【Word count】≤ 9,000 excl. citations/bibliography? [Y/N] 【Style + anonymized + ORCID】author-date consistent; double-blind clean? [Y/N] 【Next】govern-transparency-and-data ``` ## Supplementary resources - [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers and comparative-governance writing/data aids - [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — word/abstract caps, citation style, ORCID, double-blind policy --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Governance-Journal-Skills/skills/govern-writing-style/SKILL.md`