Red Writing Style

Writing Style for RED (red-writing-style)

When to trigger

• Drafting or tightening the abstract, introduction, and front matter for a RED submission
• Setting up references and keywords to RED specifications
• Formatting the manuscript for initial submission

RED conventions (verified; re-confirm on the official Guide for Authors)

• Abstract: concise and factual, not exceeding 250 words, and able to stand alone — references inside the abstract are discouraged. Lead with the question, the model, and the headline quantitative result.
• References: author-year (Harvard-style) citation system; reference list alphabetical and consistent.
• Keywords: 1 to 6 required.
• Formatting: Elsevier's general Guide for Authors applies; LaTeX accepted via the elsarticle class; initial submission is flexible ("your paper your way"), so you need not fully typeset to Elsevier style for the first round.
• Generative AI: any use of generative-AI tools must be declared at submission.
• Length: this pack does not encode a RED-specific manuscript word/page cap. Use the current Guide and Editorial Manager prompts for live file constraints; keep the paper as long as the contribution warrants and no longer.

Abstract shape

Use this order:

Dynamic question -> model/mechanism -> discipline/evidence -> headline quantitative result -> implication.

Do not begin with data or policy motivation alone. RED readers need to see the dynamic mechanism before they decide whether the paper belongs in the journal.

Style notes for dynamic papers

• Make the mechanism legible before the math — a reader should grasp the dynamic force from the intro.
• Define the model cleanly; relegate long derivations and proofs to an appendix.
• State magnitudes (the calibrated/estimated number that matters) early and precisely.

Introduction paragraph order

Use this sequence for RED introductions:

1. Dynamic fact or puzzle.
2. Mechanism and state variable that make the problem dynamic.
3. Model discipline: data moments, calibration, estimation, or theoretical restriction.
4. Headline quantitative result or theorem.
5. Why the result changes how the SED/dynamic-economics audience thinks about the mechanism.

Avoid opening with institutional background that could fit a static paper. The first page should prove that time, state dependence, expectations, accumulation, adjustment costs, search, or equilibrium dynamics are essential to the contribution.

Notation conventions for dynamic-model prose

• Write recursive problems in standard Bellman form — V(a, z) = max over (c, a') of u(c) + βE[V(a', z')|z] — defining every state, choice, and shock at first use, and keep symbols stable across the model section, the calibration table, and the computational appendix.
• Time variables explicitly (beginning- vs end-of-period assets): timing mismatches between the equations and the archived code are a referee-visible error class at a code-first journal.
• Keep the body for the model, the calibration logic, and the experiments; equilibrium-condition derivations and algorithm detail go to appendices the body cites by number.
• Give experiment units in-line ("a one-standard-deviation TFP shock", "a transfer of 1% of GDP") rather than relying on a figure caption to carry them.

Abstract rewrite example (illustrative)

WEAK:  "We study inequality and monetary policy in a rich model with many
realistic features and find interesting effects."

RED-SHAPED:  "How does household debt shape monetary transmission? In a
heterogeneous-agent New Keynesian model calibrated to U.S. wealth and MPC
distributions, a 25bp rate cut raises aggregate consumption by 0.4% — twice
the representative-agent benchmark — because constrained borrowers' interest
burdens fall."  (numbers illustrative)

The rewrite names the model class, the discipline (wealth and MPC distributions), and the headline magnitude in three sentences — the pattern a RED desk screen rewards.

Checklist

• Abstract ≤250 words, stand-alone, no internal references, headline result stated
• References clean author-year; list alphabetical and consistent
• 1–6 keywords supplied
• AI-use declaration prepared; LaTeX builds under elsarticle

Anti-patterns

• A 250+-word abstract or one that cannot be read without the paper
• Mixed citation styles instead of clean author-year
• Asserting a manuscript length cap that the current RED Guide does not publish

Output format

[Style diagnosis] dynamic mechanism clear / static opening / too long / format risk
[Abstract fix] <250-word stand-alone target>
[Intro repair] <paragraph or sequence to rewrite>
[Front matter] keywords / references / AI declaration / LaTeX
[Next step] red-submission or red-tables-figures

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — Guide-for-Authors facts and fee/source-precedence notes

Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → Review-of-Economic-Dynamics-Skills/skills/red-writing-style/SKILL.md