ajs-review-process
Use to understand how the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) evaluates a manuscript — its distinctive student-run, double-blind review out of the University of Chicago Department of Sociology, the "preject" screen, reviewer assignment by a Manuscript Assignment Board, and decision categories. Sets expectations and shapes the paper to survive review; it does not contact editors.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ajs-review-process --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Review Process (ajs-review-process) AJS's review process is **unusual** and worth understanding before submitting. It is **double-blind**, run out of the **University of Chicago Department of Sociology**, with graduate students doing reviewer assignment and a **"preject"** screen for papers not in dialogue with current sociology. Knowing this lets you pre-empt the failure modes. Verify volatile specifics on the live editorial pages before submission. ## When to trigger - Before submitting, to stress-test the manuscript against the AJS process - Interpreting a decision letter and setting expectations - Understanding why "in dialogue with current sociology" and theoretical ambition both matter ## How AJS review works (distinctive features) 1. **Double-blind.** Identities are hidden from **both** authors and referees; prepare an anonymized manuscript with a **separate cover page** (see `ajs-submission`). AJS **will not knowingly use reviewers in the author's network** (current colleagues, coauthors, PhD cohort, etc.). 2. **Three levels of editorship.** The **editorial board is the entire faculty of the UChicago Department of Sociology**; there is an editor, and a student tier (Assoc
- When to trigger
- How AJS review works (distinctive features)
- What reviewers weigh
- Shape the paper to pass
- Desk-reject / preject pattern catalogue (AJS-specific)
- Calibration: how to read an AJS letter (hedged)
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the ajs-review-process skill do?
Use to understand how the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) evaluates a manuscript — its distinctive student-run, double-blind review out of the University of Chicago Department of Sociology, the "preject" screen, reviewer assignment by a Manuscript Assignment Board, and decision categories. Sets expectations and shapes the paper to survive review; it does not contact editors.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ajs-review-process --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.