$npx -y skills add Boom5426/Nature-Paper-Skills --skill results-section-revisionUse when revising a scientific manuscript Results section whose figures, evidence, and main claims are mostly fixed, but subsection flow, paragraph openings, reader guidance, and argumentative progression still feel abrupt, repetitive, or figure-by-figure.
| 1 | # Results Section Revision |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ## Overview |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Use this skill for late-stage Results revision when the science is mostly stable but the writing architecture is not. It is narrower than `scientific-writing` and `manuscript-optimizer`: the job here is to repair subsection titles, bridge paragraphs, paragraph openings, and local argumentative flow. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Use `scientific-writing` for general prose drafting or rewriting. Use `manuscript-optimizer` when the claim hierarchy, evidence chain, or figure logic is still unstable. Use this skill when the section is largely right but still reads like stitched figure captions rather than a controlled argument. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ## Quick Checks |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Before revising any Results subsection, check: |
| 12 | |
| 13 | 1. Is the title selling the conclusion rather than the method? |
| 14 | 2. Does the first sentence of each paragraph state that paragraph's point? |
| 15 | 3. Are openings like `we asked`, `we examined`, or `to test this` overused? |
| 16 | 4. Are abstract words masking a more specific noun? |
| 17 | 5. Is the relationship to the previous paragraph explicit? |
| 18 | 6. Is the paragraph only reporting a result, or advancing the argument? |
| 19 | 7. Does the paragraph close by stating what changes in interpretation? |
| 20 | 8. Does the subsection end in a way that naturally leads into the next one? |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ## Subsection Pattern |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Each Results subsection should answer two reader questions in order: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | 1. Why is this analysis needed now? |
| 27 | 2. What does it establish? |
| 28 | |
| 29 | If the second question appears before the first, the subsection will feel abrupt. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | The first paragraph should bridge from the previous subsection and state why the next analysis is necessary. Later paragraphs should each do one job: sharpen a finding, separate related findings, show a consequence for evaluation or prioritization, or explain what a comparison actually distinguishes. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | ## Paragraph Openings |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Prefer openings that either orient the reader or state a concrete result: |
| 36 | |
| 37 | - `The molecular branch first showed ...` |
| 38 | - `The same pattern was also evident in ...` |
| 39 | - `A further question was whether ...` |
| 40 | - `Cross-representation analyses showed ...` |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Avoid repeated procedural scaffolds: |
| 43 | |
| 44 | - `To test this ...` |
| 45 | - `We next asked ...` |
| 46 | - `We then examined ...` |
| 47 | |
| 48 | At the start of a new paragraph, avoid vague pronouns unless the referent is unmistakable. Replace `this structure` or `that mismatch` with the explicit noun phrase. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | ## Style Rules |
| 51 | |
| 52 | - One paragraph, one job. |
| 53 | - Use explicit contrasts early. |
| 54 | - Surface key quantitative anchors before interpretation. |
| 55 | - Keep the register controlled, direct, and specific. |
| 56 | - End each subsection with a sentence that changes the reader's expectation for the next subsection. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | ## Common Failure Modes |
| 59 | |
| 60 | - method-like subsection titles |
| 61 | - first paragraphs that announce a result without a rationale |
| 62 | - several paragraphs in a row with the same procedural opening |
| 63 | - abstract nouns that blur what is actually being compared |
| 64 | - summary sentences that restate the result but not its implication |