Outline Skill

Review the current paper structure: section balance, word counts, Cochrane-principle compliance, and structural integrity.

Examples

• /outline — full structural analysis of main.tex
• /outline balance — check section length balance only
• /outline cochrane — Cochrane-principle compliance check only

Workflow

Step 1: Read Current Structure

1. Read main.tex
2. Extract all \section{}, \subsection{}, \subsubsection{} commands
3. Count lines and estimate words per section (between %% BEGIN/END markers)
4. Verify %% BEGIN/END markers are present and match registered keys

Registered section keys: Check the project's CLAUDE.md or guidance/paper-context.md for the section key registry. If neither exists, discover keys by scanning for %% BEGIN: markers in main.tex.

Step 2: Structural Analysis

Section Presence:

• Verify all expected body sections are present (based on registered keys or discovered markers)
• Verify appendices are present if referenced in the body
• Flag any sections that appear in main.tex but are not in the registered key list

Section Balance:

• Flag sections that are >2x the average body-section length
• Flag sections that are <0.25x the average body-section length
• Introduction target: ~3 pages (Cochrane)
• Conclusion target: ~1--2 paragraphs

Organization (Cochrane Principles):

• Is the main result presented as early as possible?
• Is there anything before the main result that a reader doesn't need?
• Are robustness checks in the appendix (not cluttering the body)?
• Is the literature review AFTER the contribution (not before)?

Step 3: Project-Specific Structural Checks

If guidance/paper-context.md exists, run its registered structural checks. Common checks include:

• Are key figures/tables referenced in the introduction?
• Does the introduction enumerate all main contributions?
• Does the conclusion mention stated deliverables (data, code, packages)?
• Is the paper's terminology used consistently in section headers?

If no paper-context file exists, skip this step and note it in the output.

Step 4: Output

PAPER OUTLINE
=============

Title: [from \title{} command in main.tex]

Current Structure:
  1. [Section name] (key: [key]) — N lines, ~M words
  2. [Section name] (key: [key]) — N lines, ~M words
  ...
  ---
  A. [Appendix name] (key: [key]) — N lines, ~M words
  ...

Total body: ~W words (~P pages at 250 words/page)
Total with appendices: ~W' words

Section Balance:
  Average body section: ~N words
  Longest: [section] (M words, Xx average)
  Shortest: [section] (M words, Xx average)

Cochrane Check:
  [x] Main result in first half of paper
  [x] Literature review after contribution
  [x] Robustness in appendix
  [ ] Introduction exceeds 3-page target (currently ~P pages)

Project-Specific Checks:
  [x] [check description]
  [ ] [any issues found]
  (or: "No paper-context.md found — skipping project-specific checks")

Section Markers:
  N/N sections have valid %% BEGIN/END markers
  [any marker issues]