polish - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: polish description: >- This skill should be used when the user asks to "polish my paper for submission", "pre-flight check", "is my paper ready to submit", "final check before submission", "prepare for submission", or needs final preparation before submitting a paper. Performs a systematic pre-flight check covering formatting, citations, figures, metadata, and build verification. Produces a checklist report with suggested fixes.

Submission Polish

Perform a final quality check on a research paper before submission. This is the last line of defense -- catch everything that would annoy a reviewer or cause a desk rejection.

Step 1: Read Context

Read .papermill.md (Read tool) for:

Venue: Target venue and its requirements.
Format: Paper format (latex, markdown, rmarkdown).
Review history: Outstanding issues from previous reviews.

If .papermill.md does not exist, the pre-flight check can still run — infer the format from the manuscript files and ask the user for the target venue. The checklist works regardless. Suggest running /papermill:init to capture venue and format persistently.

Read the complete manuscript (Read tool).

Step 2: Pre-Flight Checklist

Work through each category systematically. Report issues as they are found.

Formatting

Paper compiles without errors
No LaTeX warnings (especially undefined references, missing citations)
Page count within venue limits
Correct venue template/style file used
Margins, font size, and spacing match requirements
Line numbers included if required by venue
Anonymous submission if required (no author names in text or metadata)

Abstract

Word count within venue limits (typically 150-300 words)
Self-contained (no citations, no undefined terms)
States the problem, approach, main result, and significance
Matches the paper's actual content

Citations and References

All citations resolve (no "?" in the PDF)
Bibliography is complete (no missing fields)
Citation style matches venue requirements
All references are cited in the text (no orphan bib entries that should be removed)
All cited works are in the bibliography
Self-citations are reasonable in number

Figures and Tables

All figures are referenced in the text
Figure captions are self-contained (reader should understand without reading the text)
Resolution is sufficient for print (300+ DPI for raster images)
Color is used accessibly (works in grayscale, colorblind-safe)
Tables have clear headers and units

Mathematical Content

All symbols are defined before use
Notation is consistent throughout
Equation numbering is correct and referenced
Theorem/definition/proof environments are properly labeled
No orphan proofs (every proof has a parent theorem/proposition)

Writing Quality

No first-person narrative inconsistencies ("I" vs "we")
Consistent tense usage
No obvious typos or grammatical errors
Acronyms defined on first use
No overly long paragraphs (break up walls of text)

Metadata

Author names and affiliations are correct
ORCID identifiers included if venue supports them
Keywords/subject classification provided
Acknowledgments section present (funding, help, etc.)
Data availability statement if required
Code availability statement if applicable

Supplementary Material

Appendices are referenced from the main text
Supplementary files are in the required format
Appendix content is not essential to understanding the main paper

Step 3: Build Verification

Run a clean build appropriate to the paper format (Bash tool). Use the manuscript path discovered in Step 1 (from .papermill.md or by scanning for .tex/.md/.Rmd files with Glob tool). Examples:

LaTeX papers:

latexmk -pdf <path-to-main.tex>

Markdown papers:

pandoc <path-to-paper.md> -o paper.pdf

R Markdown papers:

Rscript -e "rmarkdown::render('<path-to-paper.Rmd>')"

Report:

Number of pages
Number of warnings (LaTeX warnings, pandoc warnings, R warnings)
Number of undefined references
Number of overfull/underfull hbox warnings (LaTeX; prioritize overfull)

Step 4: Present Results

Present the checklist results:

Pre-Flight Report

Status: [Ready / Issues found]

Passing: N/M checks passed Issues:

[issue + suggested fix]

[issue + suggested fix] ...

Step 5: Fix Issues

Offer to fix issues directly:

Formatting fixes: Apply them.
Content fixes: Suggest specific changes and ask for approval.
Style fixes: Propose rewording.

Step 6: Update State File

After all issues are resolved:

Set stage to submission in .papermill.md (Edit tool).
Append a timestamped note: "Pre-flight check passed. Ready for submission to [venue]."

Step 7: Suggest Next Steps

Paper is polished and ready. Final steps:

Submit: Follow the venue's submission instructions.

/papermill:venue: If you haven't selected a venue yet, do so now.

Archive: Consider creating a git tag marking the submitted version.