# Academic Writing Core > Master skill for producing, editing, evaluating, and transforming any text into high-quality academic writing. Use this skill whenever the user asks to write, improve, rewrite, or review academic content — including essays, research papers, dissertations, journal articles, reports, abstracts, literature reviews, or any scholarly text. Also trigger for requests like "make this sound more academic,… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-muhammad1438-academic-writer-skills-academic-writing-core` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [muhammad1438](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/muhammad1438) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [muhammad1438](https://github.com/muhammad1438) - **Source:** https://github.com/muhammad1438/academic-writer-skills/tree/master/skills/academic-writing-core ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-muhammad1438-academic-writer-skills-academic-writing-core ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Academic Writing Core This is the master orchestrator for all academic writing tasks. It defines the foundational principles that govern all sub-skills and routes complex tasks to the appropriate specialist skill. ## Core Philosophy Academic writing is NOT a single style. It is a **complex ecology of distinct discourse communities**, each governed by its own epistemological values (what counts as knowledge) that dictate rhetorical conventions, syntactic preferences, and structural paradigms. Before producing any academic text, establish: 1. **Discipline** — Which field? (STEM / Social Sciences / Humanities / Law / Medicine / Business) 2. **Paper Type** — What genre? (Essay / Research Paper / Dissertation / Review / Report) 3. **Citation Style** — Which format? (APA / MLA / Chicago / IEEE / Vancouver / Harvard) 4. **Audience** — Experts in the field? Interdisciplinary? Instructors? 5. **Regional Tradition** — US English or UK English? --- ## Discipline-Specific Conventions at a Glance ### Humanities (Literature, History, Philosophy, Art History) - **Voice:** Active voice preferred — emphasizes human agency and interpretation - **Evidence:** Direct quotation is primary evidence; exact wording of sources is deeply valued - **Tone:** Reflective, interpretive, argumentative; nuanced close reading - **Citation:** MLA (literature), Chicago NB (history/arts) - **Key genres:** Literary analysis, historical monograph, philosophical argument essay - **First-person:** Generally permitted for interpretive stance ### Social Sciences (Psychology, Sociology, Education, Political Science) - **Voice:** Mix; APA recommends active ("We conducted") for clarity - **Evidence:** Paraphrase and synthesis of existing research dominates; statistics - **Tone:** Strictly objective; extensive exploration of complex social phenomena - **Citation:** APA 7th (psychology, education), Chicago Author-Date (political science) - **Key genres:** Empirical research report, literature review, case study - **First-person:** Permitted in APA 7th ("We found that...") ### STEM (Physics, Engineering, Biology, Computer Science, Chemistry) - **Voice:** Historically passive ("The experiment was conducted") — focuses on the phenomenon, not the researcher. Modern guidelines increasingly allow active for clarity. - **Evidence:** Data, statistics, empirical reproducibility - **Tone:** Strictly objective, information-dense, highly structured - **Citation:** IEEE (engineering/CS), Vancouver (biomedicine), ACS (chemistry), CSE (sciences) - **Key genres:** Lab report, technical report, conference paper, journal manuscript - **First-person:** Traditionally avoided; check journal guidelines ### Medicine and Health Sciences - **Voice:** Passive dominant in clinical documentation; active allowed in discussion - **Tone:** User-centered, legally precise, unambiguous - **Evidence:** Clinical data, trials, systematic reviews; GRADE evidence hierarchy - **Citation:** Vancouver (ICMJE) for journal manuscripts; APA for nursing education - **Key genres:** SOAP notes, systematic reviews, clinical case reports, health policy briefs ### Business and Management - **Voice:** Active preferred — direct, persuasive, efficient - **Tone:** Professional, persuasive, user-centered; "accentuating the positives" - **Style:** HATS procedure (Headings, Art, Typography, Space) for document design - **Citation:** APA or Chicago Author-Date - **Key genres:** Business memo, white paper, market analysis, executive summary, grant proposal ### Law - **Voice:** Formal, precise, often impersonal - **Tone:** Authoritative, structured, precedent-based - **Citation:** Jurisdiction-specific (Bluebook for US, OSCOLA for UK) - **Key genres:** Legal memoranda, case briefs, appellate briefs, law review articles --- ## UK vs. US English — Quick Reference | Feature | US English | UK English | |---|---|---| | Suffix | -ize, -yze (analyze, prioritize) | -ise, -yse (analyse, prioritise) | | Ending | -or (color, behavior) | -our (colour, behaviour) | | Consonants | Single (canceled, traveled) | Double (cancelled, travelled) | | Punctuation | Periods/commas INSIDE "quotes." | Periods/commas OUTSIDE 'quotes'. | | Collective nouns | Singular (The team is…) | Often plural (The team are…) | | Past participle | -ed (learned, burned) | -t or -ed (learnt, burnt) | **Rule:** Never mix traditions within a single document. Choose one and be consistent throughout. --- ## Routing to Sub-Skills When the task falls into a specialist area, read the relevant SKILL.md: | Task | Sub-Skill | |---|---| | Format or generate citations | `citation-formatter/SKILL.md` | | Academic vocabulary, hedging, transitions | `academic-language-toolkit/SKILL.md` | | Write or improve an abstract | `abstract-writer/SKILL.md` | | Paraphrase a source or avoid plagiarism | `paraphrasing-engine/SKILL.md` | | Write or structure a literature review | `literature-review/SKILL.md` | | Structure a full paper (IMRAD, essay, etc.) | `paper-structure/SKILL.md` | | Build an argument or critical analysis | `argumentation-engine/SKILL.md` | | Fix grammar, tone, style | `grammar-style-checker/SKILL.md` | | AI disclosure, ethics in academic writing | `ai-academic-ethics/SKILL.md` | | Write a grant proposal (NSF, NIH, EU, etc.) | `grant-proposal/SKILL.md` | | Write a research proposal (PhD, ethics, funding) | `research-proposal/SKILL.md` | | Write a lab report | `lab-report/SKILL.md` | | Respond to peer review / write a rebuttal letter | `peer-review-response/SKILL.md` | | Report statistical results | `statistical-reporting/SKILL.md` | | Write or compile in LaTeX | `latex-writer/SKILL.md` | | Check figures or tables | `figure-table-checker/SKILL.md` | | Choose a journal to submit to | `journal-selection/SKILL.md` | | Verify reference accuracy | `reference-verifier/SKILL.md` | | Write a data management plan | `data-management-plan/SKILL.md` | | Write a journal submission cover letter | `cover-letter-writer/SKILL.md` | | Report qualitative research findings | `qualitative-reporting/SKILL.md` | | Write a thesis or dissertation | `thesis-dissertation-guide/SKILL.md` | | Write a plain-language or lay summary | `plain-language-summary/SKILL.md` | | Preregister a research study | `preregistration-guide/SKILL.md` | | Design a conference poster or presentation | `conference-presentation/SKILL.md` | | Write an academic CV or job application materials | `academic-cv/SKILL.md` | --- ## Publication Track For researchers submitting to journals or applying for funding, the typical workflow is: 1. **Plan** → `paper-structure/SKILL.md` or `research-proposal/SKILL.md` 2. **Research** → `literature-review/SKILL.md` + `argumentation-engine/SKILL.md` 3. **Write** → `academic-language-toolkit/SKILL.md` + `abstract-writer/SKILL.md` 4. **Edit** → `grammar-style-checker/SKILL.md` + `citation-formatter/SKILL.md` 5. **Funding** → `grant-proposal/SKILL.md` 6. **Respond to reviewers** → `peer-review-response/SKILL.md` ## Coursework Track For students writing essays, reports, and dissertations: 1. **Structure** → `paper-structure/SKILL.md` 2. **Research** → `literature-review/SKILL.md` 3. **Write** → `academic-language-toolkit/SKILL.md` + `paraphrasing-engine/SKILL.md` 4. **Lab work** → `lab-report/SKILL.md` 5. **Edit** → `grammar-style-checker/SKILL.md` + `citation-formatter/SKILL.md` 6. **Ethics** → `ai-academic-ethics/SKILL.md` --- ## Universal Quality Checklist Before finalizing any academic output, verify: - [ ] Correct discipline conventions applied (voice, tone, evidence type) - [ ] Consistent US or UK English throughout - [ ] Citation style applied correctly and consistently - [ ] Every claim supported by evidence or hedged appropriately - [ ] No plagiarism — all sources cited, all paraphrases genuinely reworded - [ ] No anthropomorphism (theories don't "argue" or "feel") - [ ] Parallel structure in lists, headings, comparisons - [ ] Appropriate tense conventions per section - [ ] Bias-free, inclusive language throughout - [ ] Abstract accurately represents the paper --- ## Key Resources Referenced - Purdue OWL: Writing in the Disciplines - APA Publication Manual 7th Edition - University of Manchester Academic Phrasebank - Averil Coxhead's Academic Word List (AWL) ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [muhammad1438](https://github.com/muhammad1438) - **Source:** [muhammad1438/academic-writer-skills](https://github.com/muhammad1438/academic-writer-skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-muhammad1438-academic-writer-skills-academic-writing-core - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/muhammad1438 - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.