Jet Writing Style

---
name: jet-writing-style
description: Apply the Journal of Economic Theory (JET) house style to a manuscript — the Elsevier elsarticle theorem-proof format with definition/assumption/proposition/theorem/proof structure, disciplined notation, full references in the abstract, and an Elsevier reference style. For drafting and polishing JET prose; it does not check proofs.
---

# Writing Style (jet-writing-style)

## When to trigger

- Drafting or polishing a JET theory manuscript
- Converting a working paper into JET's elsarticle theorem-proof format
- Tightening notation and statements before submission

## JET house style

- **Typeset in LaTeX, Elsevier `elsarticle` class.** Source must be editable `.tex`; PDF is not
  accepted as a source file. Use proper theorem environments (`amsthm`): Definition, Assumption,
  Proposition, Lemma, Theorem, Corollary, Proof.
- **Theorem-proof structure, not narrative-empirical.** Set up the environment and primitives, state
  assumptions, then results, then proofs (heavy ones to an appendix). The reader should be able to read
  every formal statement without hunting through prose.
- **Notation discipline.** Introduce each symbol once, never reuse a symbol for two objects, keep the
  body and proofs identical. A notation table helps in long papers.
- **References.** Elsevier style — `elsarticle-harv` (name-year) or `elsarticle-num` (numbered); the
  required one is **待核实**, confirm in the live guide. **References cited in the abstract must be given
  in full.** Keep **unpublished results / personal communications out of the reference list.**
- **JEL codes and keywords** are expected per standard Elsevier economics practice (verbatim-rule
  status is **待核实**).
- **Generative-AI disclosure** belongs in the submission, not the prose; reviewers/editors are barred
  from using such tools — write so a human expert can follow every step.

## Prose targets

- State each theorem so it is **self-contained** — readable without the surrounding paragraph.
- Give a **one-line intuition** before a long proof; do not let intuition substitute for rigor.
- Prefer "We prove that …" over hedged "essentially / roughly" phrasing the theorem does not support.

## Anti-patterns

- Submitting PDF source instead of `.tex`
- Mixed reference styles, or abstract citations abbreviated to "et al."
- Symbol reuse and notation drift between statement and proof
- An empirical-paper voice (data-story framing) imposed on a theory result

## Output format

```
【Format】elsarticle .tex, amsthm environments? [Y/N]
【Notation】one symbol ↔ one object, body=proof? [Y/N]
【References】Elsevier style; abstract refs in full; no personal comms? [Y/N]
【Disclosures】JEL+keywords; AI declared at submission? [Y/N]
【Next】jet-tables-figures / jet-submission
```