Submission-Readiness Self-Check (rt-submission-readiness)
The mechanical/structural go/no-go that catches avoidable desk rejects before you hit
submit. Full rubric:
shared-resources/submission-readiness/readiness-checklist.md.
It is the outward-facing analogue of the repo's internal tools/quality_scorecard.py.
When to trigger
- The draft is "done" and the author is about to submit to a named venue.
- Before paying a submission fee / starting the portal.
- After
rt-journal-match selects the target and after rt-execution-bridge has run any
empirical checks the paper depends on.
Inputs to load
- The manuscript or submission packet, including front matter, main text, exhibits,
appendix, data/code statement, and cover letter if drafted.
- The target journal pack's
README.md, relevant skills, and
resources/official-source-map.md.
- Any executed analysis artifacts from
rt-execution-bridge: result handles, audit gaps,
robustness outputs, and replication/package notes.
What it does
Reads the target pack's skills + resources/official-source-map.md, inspects the actual
manuscript (cite §/table for every flag), and scores nine dimensions PASS / FLAG / FAIL:
- Fit & general interest · 2. Contribution clarity · 3. Identification / method ·
- Robustness & inference · 5. Exhibits self-contained · 6. Exposition (magnitude up front)
· 7. Venue mechanics (page limit / anonymization / fee / cover letter) · 8. Data & code /
reproducibility · 9. Pre-empted referee objections.
Go/no-go: any FAIL on Fit, Identification, or Venue-mechanics is a no-go (the classic
desk-reject triggers).
Decision contract
| Result |
Meaning |
Required next action |
GO |
No blocking FAIL and all venue mechanics are verified. |
Run rt-simulated-referee for the substantive attack surface before submission. |
CONDITIONAL GO |
No fatal desk-reject trigger, but one or more FLAG items will draw reviewer pressure. |
Fix or explicitly justify each FLAG; rerun this check on the changed sections. |
NO-GO |
Any FAIL on fit, identification/method, or venue mechanics, or an unverifiable required venue rule. |
Route each blocking item to the owning target-pack skill and rerun before opening the portal. |
For UNKNOWN, name the missing evidence and the smallest artifact needed to resolve it. Do
not silently upgrade UNKNOWN to PASS.
Hard rules
- Read the manuscript; cite locations — no status without a §/table/page reference.
- Venue facts live from the source-map, never from memory.
- No false green — unverifiable dimension →
UNKNOWN, not PASS.
- Map every FAIL/FLAG to the owning skill (and its execution bridge) so the author
knows exactly where to fix it.
- Separate mechanics from judgment — this skill catches preventable desk-reject risk;
use
rt-simulated-referee for the substantive probability of surviving peer review.
Output format
【Venue】… (bar: pack skills + source-map, read live)
【Scorecard】1 Fit … PASS/FLAG/FAIL — note (§ cited) · … (dims 2–9)
【Go / No-go】GO / NO-GO — deciding dimension(s)
【Blocking gaps (FAIL)】ranked; each with the fix + owning skill
【Will-be-pushed (FLAG)】referee-anticipation list
【Unknowns】missing evidence required before a green light
【Desk-reject risk】low / medium / high — why
Next: if readiness passes, rt-simulated-referee for the substantive adversarial review.
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → Research-Toolkit-Skills/skills/rt-submission-readiness/SKILL.md
1---2name: rt-submission-readiness3description: Use when an author is one revision away from submission and needs a venue-parameterized go/no-go scorecard on the actual manuscript: fit, identification, robustness, exhibits, exposition, venue mechanics, data/code, and pre-empted objections. Returns PASS/FLAG/FAIL per dimension, the blocking gaps, and the desk-reject risk. Reads the venue bar from the target pack + source-map.4---567# Submission-Readiness Self-Check (rt-submission-readiness)89The mechanical/structural go/no-go that catches avoidable desk rejects before you hit10submit. Full rubric:11[`shared-resources/submission-readiness/readiness-checklist.md`](../../../shared-resources/submission-readiness/readiness-checklist.md).12It is the outward-facing analogue of the repo's internal `tools/quality_scorecard.py`.1314## When to trigger1516- The draft is "done" and the author is about to submit to a named venue.17- Before paying a submission fee / starting the portal.18- After `rt-journal-match` selects the target and after `rt-execution-bridge` has run any19 empirical checks the paper depends on.2021## Inputs to load22231. The manuscript or submission packet, including front matter, main text, exhibits,24 appendix, data/code statement, and cover letter if drafted.252. The target journal pack's `README.md`, relevant skills, and26 `resources/official-source-map.md`.273. Any executed analysis artifacts from `rt-execution-bridge`: result handles, audit gaps,28 robustness outputs, and replication/package notes.2930## What it does3132Reads the target pack's skills + `resources/official-source-map.md`, inspects the actual33manuscript (cite §/table for every flag), and scores nine dimensions PASS / FLAG / FAIL:34351. Fit & general interest · 2. Contribution clarity · 3. Identification / method ·364. Robustness & inference · 5. Exhibits self-contained · 6. Exposition (magnitude up front)37· 7. Venue mechanics (page limit / anonymization / fee / cover letter) · 8. Data & code /38reproducibility · 9. Pre-empted referee objections.3940**Go/no-go:** any FAIL on Fit, Identification, or Venue-mechanics is a no-go (the classic41desk-reject triggers).4243## Decision contract4445| Result | Meaning | Required next action |46|---|---|---|47| `GO` | No blocking FAIL and all venue mechanics are verified. | Run `rt-simulated-referee` for the substantive attack surface before submission. |48| `CONDITIONAL GO` | No fatal desk-reject trigger, but one or more FLAG items will draw reviewer pressure. | Fix or explicitly justify each FLAG; rerun this check on the changed sections. |49| `NO-GO` | Any FAIL on fit, identification/method, or venue mechanics, or an unverifiable required venue rule. | Route each blocking item to the owning target-pack skill and rerun before opening the portal. |5051For `UNKNOWN`, name the missing evidence and the smallest artifact needed to resolve it. Do52not silently upgrade `UNKNOWN` to PASS.5354## Hard rules55561. **Read the manuscript; cite locations** — no status without a §/table/page reference.572. **Venue facts live from the source-map**, never from memory.583. **No false green** — unverifiable dimension → `UNKNOWN`, not PASS.594. **Map every FAIL/FLAG to the owning skill** (and its execution bridge) so the author60 knows exactly where to fix it.615. **Separate mechanics from judgment** — this skill catches preventable desk-reject risk;62 use `rt-simulated-referee` for the substantive probability of surviving peer review.6364## Output format6566```67【Venue】… (bar: pack skills + source-map, read live)68【Scorecard】1 Fit … PASS/FLAG/FAIL — note (§ cited) · … (dims 2–9)69【Go / No-go】GO / NO-GO — deciding dimension(s)70【Blocking gaps (FAIL)】ranked; each with the fix + owning skill71【Will-be-pushed (FLAG)】referee-anticipation list72【Unknowns】missing evidence required before a green light73【Desk-reject risk】low / medium / high — why74```7576Next: if readiness passes, `rt-simulated-referee` for the substantive adversarial review.7778---7980**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Research-Toolkit-Skills/skills/rt-submission-readiness/SKILL.md`