| Element | Specification |
|---|
| Font | Times New Roman, 12pt |
| Margins | 1 inch on all sides |
| Spacing | Double-spaced throughout |
| Paragraph indent | 0.5 inch first line (except Abstract) |
| Alignment | Left-aligned (not justified) |
| Page numbers | Top right, starting from page 1 |
| Header | Author last name + page number (e.g., "Smith 1") |
Title page (separate page)
[Title — centered, bold]
[Author Name]
[Institution / Affiliation]
[Course / Context if applicable]
[Date]
Section headings (APA 7th level headings)
- Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
- Level 2: Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case
- Level 3: Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case
Abstract page
- Separate page after title page
- Heading "Abstract" centered, bold
- Single block paragraph (no indent)
- Keywords line below: Keywords: word1, word2, word3
References page
- New page, heading "References" centered, bold
- Hanging indent: first line flush left, continuation lines indented 0.5 inch
- Double-spaced, alphabetical by author last name
Output location
All output goes to a dedicated folder per topic:
[configured output path]/[topic-slug]/
[topic-slug] = topic in lowercase, spaces replaced with hyphens.
Example: "AI in Sports Medicine" → ai-in-sports-medicine
Create the directory before writing any files:
mkdir -p "[output path]/[topic-slug]"
Files to write in that folder
| File | Contents |
|---|
outline.md | Outline + thesis from Phase 1 |
sources.md | Annotated reference list from Phase 2 |
paper.md | The full research paper in Markdown |
paper.docx | Word document generated from paper.md |
Step 1 — Write paper.md
# [Title]
**Author:** [Name]
**Date:** [Date]
---
## Abstract
[Abstract text]
**Keywords:** word1, word2, word3
---
## 1. Introduction & Problem Statement
...
## 2. Literature Review
...
## 3. Methodology
...
## 4. Results & Analysis
...
## 5. Discussion & Conclusion
...
## References
...
Step 2 — Convert to .docx
After writing paper.md, run:
pandoc "[output path]/[topic-slug]/paper.md" \
-o "[output path]/[topic-slug]/paper.docx" \
--reference-doc="$HOME/.agents/skills/research-paper/academic-template.docx" \
-f markdown
If the template does not exist, generate it first:
pandoc --print-default-data-file reference.docx > "$HOME/.agents/skills/research-paper/academic-template.docx"
Both paper.md and paper.docx must be present in the output folder.
Final checklist before delivering