pnas-significance
Use to write the mandatory PNAS Significance Statement — ≤120 words, written so an educated reader outside the field (down to an undergraduate) understands why the work matters. Distinct from the abstract. The highest-value PNAS-specific artifact.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill pnas-significance --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.
# Significance Statement (pnas-significance) ## Why this is a flagship PNAS skill Every PNAS research article must include a **Significance Statement** — a short, mandatory, separately submitted paragraph that explains, in plain language, **why the work matters to science and society**. It appears prominently with the article and is read by editors at triage and by the broad readership. It is **not** a second abstract. Getting it right is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for a PNAS submission, so draft it as soon as the central claim is locked — do not leave it to the final upload. ## When to trigger - The submission has no Significance Statement. - The Significance Statement just restates or condenses the abstract. - It is dense with jargon and undefined acronyms. - It exceeds ~120 words. ## The hard rule: ≤120 words, written for a non-specialist - **Length:** **≤ 120 words** (confirm the exact cap in current PNAS author guidelines; treat 120 as the ceiling). - **Audience:** an **educated scientist outside your field — down to a bright undergraduate**. If a chemistry undergraduate or a non-specialist colleague cannot follow it, rewrite it. - **Test:** read it aloud to
- Why this is a flagship PNAS skill
- When to trigger
- The hard rule: ≤120 words, written for a non-specialist
- What it must do (and not do)
- Template (four short moves, no headings)
- Worked shape
- The undergraduate rewrite drill
- Common failures (rewrite on sight)
- Output format
- Anti-patterns
What does the pnas-significance skill do?
Use to write the mandatory PNAS Significance Statement — ≤120 words, written so an educated reader outside the field (down to an undergraduate) understands why the work matters. Distinct from the abstract. The highest-value PNAS-specific artifact.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill pnas-significance --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 984 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.