SKILL.md
Research Proposal Generator
Generate a forward-looking academic research proposal — a plan for research not yet done — following flagship academic writing conventions, in English or Chinese.
This skill produces the first draft correctly, not a template to be fixed later. Its single most important discipline is citation integrity: a proposal with a fabricated reference is an academic-integrity problem, not a style problem. Read references/CITATION_INTEGRITY.md before Phase 2.
Core Principles
Prose first. Proposals read as flowing, connected paragraphs — not bulleted lists. Reserve lists for a focused set of research questions/objectives (2–4 items) and timeline milestones. Never enumerate contributions, methodology, background, or significance as bullets; narrate them. Full rules and examples: references/WRITING_STYLE_GUIDE.md.
Every citation verified before it is committed. Reference count follows the argument, never a quota — there is no minimum. A PhD proposal typically cites 25–50 sources (humanities often more); a tightly argued 25 beats a padded 45. Every reference must exist (DOI/PMID/arXiv resolves, or Zotero metadata), with author and year matching the source, before it enters the proposal. Unverifiable references are flagged [UNVERIFIED] and disclosed — never fabricated. See references/CITATION_INTEGRITY.md.
Write with verification, not one-shot. Draft section by section; verify each section's citations before moving to the next (Phase 4). Do not generate a full multi-section proposal with dozens of citations in a single pass — that is the structural cause of hallucinated references.
Hedge to the evidence. Use tentative language ("aims to", "may", "is expected to") for proposed work and uncertain claims; state well-established facts plainly. Do not over-claim ("will prove", "revolutionize").
Avoid the LLM tells. These phrases are AI-detector signatures — strip them: "Over the past decade, X has emerged as…", "In recent years,", "It is worth noting that", "plays a crucial/pivotal role", "has garnered significant attention", "delves into", "a testament to"; 中文: "近年来，随着……的飞速发展", "……日益受到广泛关注". Write specific openings grounded in the actual field instead of generic scene-setting.