# Scientific Writing Draft > Use when outline.md is approved and you need full manuscript prose in the user's voice. Stage 3 of scientific-writing — produces draft.md from the outline, then enforces the style guide in a separate final pass. - Skill: `d-laub/scientific-writing-draft` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add d-laub/scientific-writing-draft` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/d-laub/scientific-writing-draft/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: d-laub (https://skillmd.com/u/d-laub) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/d-laub/scientific-writing-draft --- # Scientific Writing — Stage 3: Draft ## Overview Turn the approved `outline.md` into full prose, then enforce the style guide in a separate pass. Two phases: 1. **Draft** — section-by-section prose from the outline, in the user's voice. Content fidelity is the priority. 2. **Style correction** — a dedicated subagent re-reads the full style guide with fresh context and corrects the whole draft. Why split them: during a long drafting conversation the style guide drifts out of context and its rules stop being applied. A final subagent whose only context is the style guide + the draft applies the guide cleanly. **Every sentence traces to an outline bullet — drafting does not introduce new claims.** ## Method backbone — Steps 13–15 Drafting is Steps 13–15 of the fifteen steps: turn each planned paragraph (its Step-11 purpose statement) into one paragraph of three parts (detail: `scientific-writing/fifteen-steps.md`): - **Topic sentence (Step 13).** Often the paragraph's purpose statement itself; or a question, a turning point ("Having established X, we turn to Y"), a complication ("…but it fails to account for…"), or a development ("This can be made concrete with a model"). If the paragraph doesn't support the paper's main point, rewrite or cut it. - **Supporting sentences (Step 15).** Typically **3–6**. For Methods/Results/Discussion responses, lift them from the outline's method/result/response lists. Equations, algorithms, and code count as supporting sentences. **Strike any sentence that doesn't advance the paragraph's purpose.** - **Concluding sentence (Step 14).** Closes the theme the topic sentence opened (a declaration → develops/summarizes it; a question → answers it) and segues to the next paragraph in logic if not syntax. If the topic and concluding sentences are disconnected, rewrite both. This is the *phrasing* stage; the thinking is already fixed in the outline. Style polish is deferred entirely to Phase 2. ## Load context first Read: `story.md`, `outline.md`, `references.md`, and the selected style guide. Default style: `styles/dlaub-style.md` (this skill's directory). If multiple styles exist in `styles/`, ask the user which to use. Record the chosen guide's path — Phase 2 needs it. ## Phase 1 — Draft (per section) 1. **Write** prose for the section from its `outline.md` bullets, one paragraph per Step-11 purpose statement using the topic→supporting→concluding contract above, in the voice of the selected style guide. 2. **Fidelity review** — every claim still traces to an `outline.md` bullet and its backing pointer/`references.md` entry. No new unbacked claims, no dropped figure callouts, no altered numbers. 3. Next section. Write `draft.md` in the story dir. Do not run the full style checklist here — that is Phase 2's job. A rough-but-faithful draft is the correct Phase 1 output. ## Phase 2 — Style correction (dedicated subagent) After the complete draft exists, dispatch ONE subagent whose only context is the style guide and the draft. This is required, not optional: do not hand-polish style inline in this conversation, because the guide has already drifted out of context here. Dispatch a subagent with this task: > Read `` in full, then read `/draft.md`. > Apply every rule in the style guide to the entire draft, working its end-of-guide checklist paragraph by paragraph. > Make **style-only** edits, in place in `draft.md`: > - Do NOT add, remove, or alter any claim. > - Do NOT change any number, citation marker, or figure callout (text or position). > - Do NOT change section structure or headings. > Return a short list of the categories of change you made (e.g. "removed 6 em-dashes, de-hedged 4 sentences, fixed 2 repeated figure callouts"). When the subagent returns, skim its change list and spot-check that no numbers or callouts moved. ## Output - `draft.md` with citation markers and figure callouts preserved exactly as in the outline. - After Phase 2: a short handoff noting any spots where the outline was thin and prose had to stretch, plus the subagent's style-change summary. ## Red flags — STOP - A sentence with a claim not in `outline.md` → remove it or send the claim back to Stage 2. - A number changed from the outline → revert; outline numbers are the source of truth. - Skipping the Phase 2 subagent and hand-styling inline → the style guide has drifted out of context; dispatch the subagent. - The style subagent changed a number, citation, or figure callout → revert that edit; the pass is style-only. ## Done Hand `draft.md` to the user for review.