scientific-writing

What it does

The skill instructs the agent to write scientific manuscript prose in full, flowing paragraphs (not bullet lists), following IMRAD structure and incorporating abstracts, figure/table captions, and citation-integrated prose. It emphasizes two-stage writing: first create section outlines with key points, then convert to complete paragraphs. It also requires applying reporting guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA) and appropriate citation styles, and to avoid bullet points in the final manuscript.

How it works

It prescribes producing manuscript sections in standard formats (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion), with guidance for Abstracts (structured or unstructured, 100-250 words), and for writing components such as sections, captions, and narrative flow. It specifies that writing should integrate citations within prose, follow journal-specific formatting and style guidelines, and ensure clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and objectivity. The two-stage process is: Stage 1 Create Section Outlines with Key Points by gathering literature notes and data, then Stage 2 Convert Key Points to Full Paragraphs by turning bullet points into complete sentences with transitions, integrating citations, and expanding with context. It lists style and terminology guidance and field-specific conventions.

When to use it

Use when writing or revising any section of a scientific manuscript (abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion), structuring the paper with IMRAD or other standard formats, formatting citations and references in specified styles, writing figure/table callouts and captions, applying study-specific reporting guidelines, drafting journal-submission text, improving writing clarity and precision, and revising prose in response to reviewer comments.

What it can touch

The skill relies on the declared tools Read, Write, Edit, Bash to perform the tasks of reading source materials, composing prose, editing drafts, and potentially executing shell actions for document handling or formatting as needed. It handles guidance for incorporating citation styles and references, and references files such as references/imrad_structure.md, references/citation_styles.md, references/figures_tables.md, and references/reporting_guidelines.md as sources for formatting and standards.

Caveats

The guidance emphasizes writing in full paragraphs and integrating citations; it does not generate diagrams or visual assets, and it directs that bullet points should not appear in the final manuscript. It instructs following journal-specific guidelines and storage of style rules in separate reference documents, but does not guarantee outcomes like publication acceptance or specific citation counts.