Writing Style (jmr-writing-style)
When to trigger
- The abstract, intro, or prose buries the contribution
- Citations and numbers are not in AMA style
- The writing reads as a managerial pitch rather than a research argument
- Final language polish before submission (after the contribution is settled)
JMR-specific style rules
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Abstract: 200 words maximum, written in the third person. It should state the marketing question, the approach (experiment/model), the key result, and the contribution — not a teaser. (Title ≤ 25 words; up to 8 keywords.)
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Citations: AMA author-year style — "Thorelli (1960)" / "(Thorelli 1960)"; list all authors up to three, "et al." for four or more. There is no reference cap, so cite both relevant behavioral and modeling work. Not APA-numeric.
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Numbers in prose: report exact p-values to three digits, with no leading zero (
p = .032, .97), and no more than three decimals; report effect sizes alongside significance. Mirror the table conventions in the text.
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Formatting: 12-point Times New Roman (or 12-point LaTeX font), double-spaced (tables/references may be single-spaced), 1-inch margins; no page/line numbers, no headers/footers. Keep the print article within 50 pages.
Write a front-loaded research argument
- Open with the marketing phenomenon and the research question, then the gap/tension, then what you do and find — the contribution should be visible on page one without the appendix.
- Use active voice and direct sentences; explain the mechanism or identification in plain terms before the technical detail.
- Keep it a research contribution. Managerial implications belong in the discussion as a consequence of the findings, not as the lead — leading with "what managers should do" reads as a Journal of Marketing paper.
- Match register to genre: behavioral papers narrate the process and converging studies; modeling papers state the question, the model intuition, then the identification.
AI-content disclosure
If any AI-generated content is used, it must be identified in the main document (e.g., in Methods) and noted in the Acknowledgments — write these in now so the submission conforms.
Anti-patterns
- A first-person or results-teaser abstract, or one over 200 words.
- APA-numeric citations; "p < .05" or asterisks in prose; leading zeros before decimals.
- Managerial-pitch framing that hides the research contribution.
- Polishing prose before the contribution and identification are settled.
Style execution pass for Journal of Marketing Research
Run this as a concrete capability pass. First lock the marketing construct, data or study design, inference threat, and managerial or consumer implication; then test whether the manuscript addresses marketing reviewers who expect measurement, experiments, consumer behavior, or empirical strategy to answer a marketing question.
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Primary move: Rewrite the opening and transitions so the venue-level claim, evidence object, and contribution are visible before technical detail; keep house-style limits tied to the source map.
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Decision ledger: return
claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
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Sibling comparison: compare against Marketing Science for quantitative modeling, Journal of Marketing for strategic managerial contribution, Journal of Consumer Research for consumer-theory depth; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
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Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open
resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.
Output format
[Target] JMR
[Abstract] <=200 words, third person, states contribution: pass/fix
[Citations] AMA author-year: pass/fix
[Numbers] 3-digit p, no leading zero, <=3 decimals, effect sizes: pass/fix
[Argument] front-loaded, research-first (not managerial): pass/fix
[AI disclosure] present if used
[Next skill] jmr-submission
Resources
