Research Paper Outline Skill

A research-paper outlining coach packaged as a Claude Skill. Produces an outline thorough enough to hand to a thesis committee before drafting — working theses with their strongest objections, a hierarchical section tree sized to your page count, a source-search strategy with real Boolean queries, a counterargument map, and style-specific citation scaffolding.

What the skill does

• Topic framing. Restates your topic, identifies the paper type (argumentative / analytical / empirical / literature review / case study / comparative / theoretical / legal analysis), and flags 2 scope risks before any work starts.
• Three candidate theses — conservative, moderate (recommended default), ambitious — each with its key claim, the single strongest objection it must survive, and the evidence required to defend it.
• Discipline-aware section outline. IMRaD for STEM, lit review → theoretical framework → methods → findings → discussion for empirical social sciences, introduction → background → arguments → counterargument → conclusion for humanities, IRAC (Issue → Rule → Application → Conclusion) for law. Every section gets purpose, target share of page count, 2–4 specific sub-points, evidence expected, and a one-sentence transition into the next.
• Source strategy. 5–7 source categories with the kind of scholar/work to look for, recommended discipline-specific databases (JSTOR, PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Westlaw, Project Muse, etc.), 5 Boolean search strings you should actually run with correct operator syntax, and a primary vs. secondary source ratio. No fabricated titles, authors, DOIs, or page numbers — the skill refuses to invent citations.
• Counterargument map. A table of Claim | Strongest opposing view | Who holds it | How the paper will respond (at least 3 rows), so you don't get blindsided in defense.
• Citation scaffolding in APA / MLA / Chicago / IEEE / Harvard — correct examples for single-author, multi-author, direct-quote, no-author, and secondary in-text citations, plus reference entries for journal article, book, book chapter, website, conference paper, and government report. Includes the 3 most common style errors in your requested style with wrong-vs-right examples.
• Interactive commands: NARROW, BROADEN, METHOD (methodology deep-dive), LIT REVIEW STRUCTURE, DATA (data sources + ethics), ETHICS (IRB / human subjects), COUNTERPROOF (strongest evidence against the thesis).
• Drafting order and milestones tied to your deadline, plus a pre-submission checklist of 10 items.

How it works

1. Intake — on first run the skill introduces itself, asks discipline, level (undergrad / grad), topic, page count, and citation style. These four inputs determine the entire outline structure.
2. Outline pass — produces all seven artifacts in order: topic framing → three theses → section tree → source strategy → counterargument map → citation scaffolding → drafting order with milestones.
3. Refinement loop — you pick a thesis, run NARROW / BROADEN until the scope matches the page count, use METHOD / DATA / ETHICS for empirical papers, and COUNTERPROOF to stress-test before drafting.
4. Continuity across sessions — the skill carries forward the chosen thesis, section allocations, and source list, so when you come back to refine a section it doesn't forget the overall argument.

How to use it

1. Click ⬇ Download this Claude Skill above.
2. Import the .md file — either through Claude Desktop (Customize → Skills → + → Create skill → Upload a skill) or by dropping it into .claude/commands/ or ~/.claude/commands/ for Claude Code. Full walkthrough in the import tutorial.
3. Invoke the skill with your four inputs:

   /research-paper-outline undergrad sociology, 12 pages, APA, topic: gig economy labor classification
   

4. Pick a thesis, then run NARROW or BROADEN until the scope fits the page count.

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Quick-start prompt (no download)

Prefer a one-shot outline without installing anything? Paste this into Claude:

Act as an academic research advisor. I'm writing a [undergraduate/graduate] [discipline, e.g. sociology / physics / law] research paper on [topic] at [X] pages using [APA / MLA / Chicago / IEEE / Harvard] citation style. Produce, in order:

1. Topic framing — restate the topic, identify the paper type (argumentative / analytical / empirical / literature review / case study / comparative / theoretical / legal analysis), and flag 2 scope risks.
2. Three candidate theses — conservative, moderate (recommended default), and ambitious — each with its key claim, the single strongest objection it must survive, and the evidence required to defend it.
3. A hierarchical section outline using the structure conventional to the discipline — IMRaD for STEM, literature review → theoretical framework → methods → findings → discussion for empirical social sciences, introduction → background → arguments → counterargument → conclusion for humanities, issue → rule → application → conclusion for law. For every section: purpose, target share of page count, 2–4 specific sub-points (not vague headers), the evidence expected, and a one-sentence transition into the next section.
4. Source strategy — 5–7 source categories with examples of the kind of scholar/work to look for; recommended discipline-specific databases; 5 Boolean search strings I should actually run with correct operator syntax; and a primary vs. secondary source ratio. Do not fabricate any specific titles, authors, DOIs, or page numbers.
5. Counterargument map — a table of Claim | Strongest opposing view | Who holds it | How the paper will respond (at least 3 rows).
6. Citation scaffolding in the requested style — correct examples for single / multi-author / direct-quote / no-author / secondary in-text citations, and reference entries for journal article, book, book chapter, website, conference paper, government report. List the 3 most common style errors with wrong-vs-right examples.
7. Drafting order and milestones tied to my deadline, and a pre-submission checklist of 10 items.

Tips:

• The downloadable skill is the better path if you're refining over multiple sessions — it remembers the chosen thesis and section allocations so later refinements don't lose the overall argument.
• Never trust the AI for specific source titles — always verify citations in your library's database.
• If the outline feels thin for your page count, the topic is probably too narrow; try BROADEN.
• Draft the introduction last, after the body has told you what the paper is actually about.

⚠ This skill has been tested and optimized for Claude. Results may vary with other AI assistants.