How do I install the Documenting With Sources skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mathbullet/documenting-with-sources in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Documenting With Sources safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Documenting With Sources?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Documenting With Sources free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Documenting With Sources?

mathbullet (@mathbullet) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Documenting With Sources by mathbullet

Name: Documenting With Sources
Author: mathbullet

Documenting With Sources

Common conventions for writing Markdown documents that cite external sources (survey reports, paper explainers, and any deliverable that surfaces facts from outside). Defines mandatory citation, in-text reference format, quotation-versus-prose separation, the ban on fabricated associations, and the source-list format. Referenced by survey, paper-details, and any skill that produces sourced output.

mathbullet 2ef1b7d 3.0 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Documenting with Sources

Common conventions for writing Markdown documents that pull from outside sources. Apply to any deliverable that surfaces facts taken from elsewhere — survey reports, paper explainers, and similar.

Cite every factual claim

Every factual claim in the deliverable must carry a citation. A claim with no citation cannot be verified, and is worthless as a documented finding. If a claim cannot be tied to a source, mark it explicitly (e.g. "citation not confirmed"). Do not slip uncited claims in silently.

Reference format

In-text references take the shape [label (YYYY/MM), location]. How to fill the label slot (publication name, author short-form, position-only for the paper under review, etc.) is decided by the calling skill.
Do not use bare numeric references such as [1] or [2]. Numbers alone force the reader to bounce between text and source list; readability drops.
For the formatting of quotation blocks themselves (code-block fencing, original-and-translation pairing, where to place the source reference, anti-patterns), follow the writing-quotation skill. Read writing-quotation before drafting.

Quotation vs prose

Keep quotations and prose (the writer's own summary or interpretation) visually and structurally separate. Even when not quoting, write in a way that prevents the source's claim and the writer's interpretation from blending.
When quoting a source written in a language other than the writer's working language, place the translation alongside the original inside the same code block (see writing-quotation).

No fabricated associations or interpretations

Do not write interpretations, speculation, or associations that the source itself does not contain.

Do not invent connections such as "this relates to X", "this could be applied to Y", or "this suggests Z" when the source does not say so.
Do not import context from the surrounding conversation or the calling project into the body of the document. Descriptions of a source must stay within the source's own content.
Good: "Main criticism: even with flipped labels, accuracy does not always drop, and the text-gradient is mathematically distinct from classical gradient descent" (states what the source actually says).
Bad: "Relation to AI writing improvement: feedback-based improvement is mathematically different from gradient descent..." (the source does not say this; the connection is fabricated from conversation context).

Source-list format

The source list at the end of the document uses this format:

[label, YYYY/MM] Author. "Title." Publication. URL

Do not use the - [n] list format.

---name: documenting-with-sourcesdescription: Common conventions for writing Markdown documents that cite external sources (survey reports, paper explainers, and any deliverable that surfaces facts from outside). Defines mandatory citation, in-text reference format, quotation-versus-prose separation, the ban on fabricated associations, and the source-list format. Referenced by survey, paper-details, and any skill that produces sourced output.---# Documenting with SourcesCommon conventions for writing Markdown documents that pull from outside sources. Apply to any deliverable that surfaces facts taken from elsewhere — survey reports, paper explainers, and similar.## Cite every factual claimEvery factual claim in the deliverable must carry a citation. A claim with no citation cannot be verified, and is worthless as a documented finding. If a claim cannot be tied to a source, mark it explicitly (e.g. "citation not confirmed"). Do not slip uncited claims in silently.## Reference format- In-text references take the shape `[label (YYYY/MM), location]`. How to fill the `label` slot (publication name, author short-form, position-only for the paper under review, etc.) is decided by the calling skill.- Do not use bare numeric references such as `[1]` or `[2]`. Numbers alone force the reader to bounce between text and source list; readability drops.- For the formatting of quotation blocks themselves (code-block fencing, original-and-translation pairing, where to place the source reference, anti-patterns), follow the `writing-quotation` skill. Read `writing-quotation` before drafting.## Quotation vs prose- Keep quotations and prose (the writer's own summary or interpretation) visually and structurally separate. Even when not quoting, write in a way that prevents the source's claim and the writer's interpretation from blending.- When quoting a source written in a language other than the writer's working language, place the translation alongside the original inside the same code block (see `writing-quotation`).## No fabricated associations or interpretationsDo not write interpretations, speculation, or associations that the source itself does not contain.- Do not invent connections such as "this relates to X", "this could be applied to Y", or "this suggests Z" when the source does not say so.- Do not import context from the surrounding conversation or the calling project into the body of the document. Descriptions of a source must stay within the source's own content.- Good: "Main criticism: even with flipped labels, accuracy does not always drop, and the text-gradient is mathematically distinct from classical gradient descent" (states what the source actually says).- Bad: "Relation to AI writing improvement: feedback-based improvement is mathematically different from gradient descent..." (the source does not say this; the connection is fabricated from conversation context).## Source-list formatThe source list at the end of the document uses this format:`[label, YYYY/MM] Author. "Title." Publication. URL`Do not use the `- [n]` list format.

Frequently asked questions