Paper Skeleton & Draft Sprint
Start writing today with an outline that becomes a draft
You have ideas and papers but no structure and no momentum. This recipe produces a section-by-section skeleton, then runs short drafting sprints to turn it into a rough draft you can actually send to your advisor.
INGREDIENTS
PROMPT
Create a skill called "Paper Skeleton & Draft Sprint". Ask for: - Document type (paper/thesis/chapter/grant narrative) and target venue (if known) - Main claim/contribution (3 sentences; if missing, help me draft) - Required sections or format expectations (if unspecified, propose a default structure) - Any key citations I already know (titles/DOIs; optional) Output: 1) A section skeleton with paragraph bullets. 2) A sprint plan (time boxes) to draft each section. 3) A minimum viable draft (MVD) target: what counts as "done" for today. 4) Placeholders for citations, marked clearly as placeholders. Rules: - No fabricated references. - When something is unknown, mark as "unspecified" and keep moving.
How It Works
This recipe targets the "I don't know how to start writing" problem.
It breaks writing into two phases: structure first, then short bursts of prose.
What You Get
- A paper skeleton (headings + paragraph-level bullet intent)
- An argument map: claim → evidence needed → where it appears
- Citation placeholders marked clearly (no fabricated references)
- A sprint schedule (e.g., 3 × 30 minutes) to generate a rough draft
- A "minimum viable draft" (MVD) target: the smallest coherent draft worth sending
Setup Steps
- Provide the target venue/type (journal, conference, thesis chapter)
- Provide your main contribution in 3 sentences (or brainstorm together)
- Provide any required sections (IMRaD, related work, etc.)
- The Claw produces a skeleton and guides you through timed sprints
Tips
- Don't polish during sprints — rough prose only, editing comes later
- The MVD target keeps you from over-writing sections that don't need it yet
- Pairs well with Synthesis Notebook Builder for citation placement