jf-internet-appendix - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: jf-internet-appendix description: Use when deciding what belongs in the Internet Appendix vs. the main text of a The Journal of Finance (JF) manuscript. Allocates content and structures the appendix per JF's actual policy; it does not generate the results.

Internet Appendix (jf-internet-appendix)

When to trigger

The main text is bloated with proofs, secondary robustness tables, or data-construction detail
A referee will ask for more checks but the article is near the 60-page limit
You are unsure how JF wants the Internet Appendix submitted and hosted
The main result is buried on page 40 behind diagnostics

JF's actual Internet Appendix policy

The "Internet Appendix" is a JF convention. JF's specifics differ from generic "online appendices":

At submission, the Internet Appendix is placed at the END of the same PDF as the manuscript — NOT uploaded as a separate file. Put the title "Internet Appendix" at the top of its first page so it is not mistaken for a regular appendix.
The Internet Appendix does not count toward JF's 60-page manuscript limit (manuscript: ≤60 pp, ≥1.5 spacing, 12-pt font).
The paper must be self-contained: a reader must understand the study in full without consulting the Internet Appendix.
On acceptance, the appendix is published as the Internet Appendix with the online article on the publisher's (Wiley) site.

Source: afajof.org/submissions and the JF Submission Guidelines (Rev. March 12, 2024), accessed 2026-05-30.

What goes where

Content	Main text	Internet Appendix
The question, design, headline result, economic magnitude	X
The 3–6 decisive robustness checks	X
Full proofs / derivations of propositions		X
Secondary / exhaustive robustness tables		X
Detailed variable construction, data filters, sample steps	brief	full detail
Alternative measures / extra subsamples / extra factor models		X
Monte Carlo / simulation evidence		X
Additional figures, summary-stat breakdowns		X

Structuring the Internet Appendix

Mirror the main-text section order; label tables IA.I, IA.II, … and figures IA.1, IA.2, ….
Every appendix item must be referenced from the main text ("see Internet Appendix Table IA.IV") — orphan tables read as padding.
Keep each appendix table self-contained, same note conventions as the main exhibits (jf-tables-figures).
Note: replication code is handled separately under JF's Data and Code Sharing Policy (Supplementary Information at acceptance), not via the Internet Appendix — see jf-submission.

Worked vignette — sizing an Internet Appendix for an anomaly paper

Illustrative. An anomaly paper keeps four decisive exhibits in the body — the headline spread table, one factor-adjusted alpha table, the GRS test, and a placebo. The Internet Appendix absorbs the other candidate signals, alternative factor models, equal-weighted and alternative-breakpoint versions, transaction-cost nets, the data-construction appendix, and any Monte Carlo. The IA might run 30+ pages while the body stays well under 60 — exactly the flagship's intended shape: a self-contained body over a backstop a skeptical referee can drill into.

Referee-pushback patterns and the JF-specific fix

Pushback you will hear	JF-specific fix
"I can't follow the paper without the appendix"	Make the body self-contained; the IA is optional reading
"Your appendix is a junk drawer of uncited tables"	Cite every IA item from the body; cut anything orphaned
"You submitted the IA as a separate file"	Re-bundle at the end of the same PDF, titled "Internet Appendix"

Calibration anchors for the IA culture

The Internet Appendix is a JF hallmark; an extensive one signals seriousness, while a thin IA at a top-3 finance journal reads as under-stress-tested.
Self-containment means the question, design, headline, and magnitude land without the IA — the IA deepens, never completes, the argument.
Bundled-in-PDF placement and the no-page-count rule are JF specifics; confirm against current author guidelines, since submission mechanics change.

Checklist

Internet Appendix is at the END of the same PDF, titled "Internet Appendix"
Main text is self-contained and ≤60 pages on its own
All proofs/derivations are in the Internet Appendix, not interleaved in the body
Every Internet Appendix item is cited from the main text
IA numbering and note conventions match the main exhibits
No genuinely new headline finding appears only in the appendix

Anti-patterns

Uploading the Internet Appendix as a separate file (JF wants it bundled in the same PDF at submission)
Writing a body that cannot be understood without the appendix (JF requires self-containment)
Treating the Internet Appendix as a junk drawer of uncited tables
Padding the body past 60 pages and pushing core results into the appendix to dodge the limit

Output format

【IA bundled at end of same PDF + titled?】yes / no
【Body self-contained and ≤60 pp?】yes / no
【Proofs relocated?】yes / no
【All IA items cited from body?】yes / no
【New result hidden in appendix?】yes / no
【Next step】jf-writing-style