Thread by @cblatts

Some academic job market paper advice.

You show already know that most people will only read the abstract and intro. So these need to be polished & self-contained. You will need to rewrite them every day for months.

But how to make them perfect?

This goes for both economists but also political scientists: I learned a lot by downloading about 10-15 QJE articles and reading the introductions and abstracts all in one sitting. Find 10-15 in your very broad area and see.

I don't know how Katz & Shleifer do it, but they manage to help authors craft complex articles into clearer, more straightforward prose than any journal I know. I assume it is time and attention to each article, and detailed advice.

For empirical papers, for instance, you'll see a plainspoken focus on the core and practical insight, with relatively little ornamentation or grandiose statements. The question is motivated, the argument is presented in detailed summary, and...

...the literatures to which it speaks are presented in an un-clumsy way. there's no need for a literature review because it has been seamlessly integrated into the motivation, theory, and relevance/discussion I the introduction.

Also pay attention to the layout of the paper, and how sections are ordered. It's simple and sensible and fairly consistent. And pay close attention to the tables, which have been carefully organized to present as much information as possible, and stand alone from the paper.

The sign of a good table or figure is that you do not need a single page of the paper to understand what is happening.

Finally, I recommend plugging your abstract and intro into the Hemingway Editor
hemingwayapp.com

It will push you to use shorter sentences, simpler language. Do use it blindly, but aim for a grade 9 reading level. It probably make your contribution much easier to read.

By the way, I do all of the above for all of my papers. Still.