How to use the Research Paper Writing agent skill

What the skill makes the agent do

When installed, the skill makes the agent work through a fixed academic method. It first clarifies the research story: the task, the technical problem, the contribution, why the approach works, and what evidence is needed. Only after that does it help with sentences.

The agent builds compact outlines in which each section serves the main question and each paragraph carries one point. It also checks that every important claim in the abstract and introduction is backed by experiments, data or sources. Where support is missing, the skill asks the agent to weaken or remove the claim rather than hide the gap with stronger wording.

Finally, the skill asks the agent to review the draft from a sceptical reviewer's viewpoint. The skill describes itself as writing guidance, not a source of research results.

Install the Research Paper Writing skill

Download the ZIP file for the skill from this page. Then install it in one of two ways.

For a personal install, unzip the file into ~/.claude/skills/. To limit it to one project, unzip it into the .claude/skills/ folder inside that project.

In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
• Single project: .claude/skills/ inside the project folder
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload

Check what the package contains

The skill folder includes three files. SKILL.md holds the core workflow and outline guidance. review.md holds the pre-submission reviewer checklist, including a claim-evidence table. topics.md holds guidance for judging candidate research topics against the material you already have.

• SKILL.md: core workflow, outline organisation, paragraph and argument rules, source rules
• review.md: five review dimensions and a reverse-outline check
• topics.md: candidate topic requirements and how to narrow weak topics

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Describe the writing task in plain language and say what you want the agent to help with. The skill is aimed at research papers and academic content, so mention the paper, chapter or section you are working on.

Useful requests name the stage of work: clarifying the research story, outlining a section, tightening a paragraph, or reviewing a draft before submission. You can also ask the agent to label each main claim as supported or needing evidence.

• "Help me clarify the research story for my conference paper before we edit the introduction."
• "Build a section outline for the methods chapter, one point per paragraph."
• "Review this draft from a skeptical reviewer's view and mark any claim that needs evidence."
• "Check that every claim in my abstract is backed by an experiment in the results section."

What it needs and what it does not do

The source lists no required dependencies. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network. It is text guidance that shapes how the agent writes and reviews.

It does not supply references, datasets, baselines or results. The skill forbids inventing citations and numbers, but you must verify every source yourself, because the agent can still make errors.

• Requirements: none listed
• Runs scripts: no
• Uses network: no

Tips for getting useful output

Give the agent your real material first: your notes, experiment results, and the papers you cite. The skill asks the agent to base claims on evidence in the source, so an empty context produces weaker guidance.

Keep the skill for academic work. Its rigid paper structure is unhelpful for non-academic creative writing. For a topic, ask for candidate topics only after the agent has read your materials, since the skill asks for choices grounded in them.

• Provide your experiments, data and sources before asking for claims
• Ask for a claim-evidence table to see which points are supported
• Narrow the scope if the evidence is thin rather than strengthening the wording