name: paper_review description: Thoroughly review an academic paper and create a structured Markdown note using the note_template.md. Use when the user asks to review, read, summarise, or take notes on a paper.
Paper Review
Overview
Produce a thorough, structured literature note for the indicated paper. The note is filled exclusively from the paper itself — do not introduce any external information, prior knowledge, or internet sources. Every claim in the note must be traceable to the paper.
Input
ARGUMENTS may be:
- A file path to a PDF (absolute or relative)
- A Zotero storage key (e.g.
23SUA9S3) — the PDF lives at~/Zotero/storage/<KEY>/*.pdf - A keyword/title to search in
~/Zotero/storage/using Glob
Instructions
Step 1 — Locate the PDF
- If a direct path is given, use it.
- If a Zotero key is given, Glob
~/Zotero/storage/<KEY>/*.pdf. - If a title/keyword is given, Glob
~/Zotero/storage/**/*.pdfand find the closest match. If multiple candidates exist, list them and ask the user to confirm before proceeding.
Step 2 — Read the PDF
- Use the Read tool with
pages:parameter. - First read pages 1–5 to extract metadata (title, authors, year, journal, DOI, abstract).
- Then read the full paper in chunks of up to 20 pages until the entire document is covered.
- Keep a running internal summary after each chunk — do not lose content from earlier chunks.
- For short papers (≤ 20 pages), read in a single call.
Step 3 — Fill the note template
Read note_template.md (in the same folder as this SKILL.md) and fill every field strictly from the paper:
| Field | Source in paper |
|---|---|
| {{title}} | Title page / header |
| {{authors}} | Author list |
| {{year}} | Publication year |
| {{citekey}} | Derive as AuthorYEAR (e.g. Acemoglu2012) |
| {{tags}} | Infer 2–4 topic tags from content (e.g. IP-finance, Basel-III) |
| {{date}} | Today's date in YYYY-MM-DD |
| {{publicationTitle}} | Journal/conference name |
| {{DOI}} | DOI if present, else N/A |
| {{abstractNote}} | Verbatim or lightly condensed abstract |
| {{annotations}} | Key quoted passages with page numbers |
| {{id}} | Zotero key if known, else leave blank |
| {{pdfLink}} | Absolute path to the PDF |
Fill the analytical sections from your reading:
- Key Takeaways — 3–5 bullet points: the most important insights a reader must retain
- Summary — 2–4 paragraph narrative of what the paper does and why
- Methodology — Approach, data sources, analytical methods used
- Main Findings — Numbered list of empirical or theoretical results
- Connections — What the paper supports, contradicts, extends (infer from paper's own literature discussion only)
- Personal Thoughts — Leave as empty bullet (
-) — the user fills this - Questions — 2–3 open questions that arise from reading the paper
- Reading Progress — Tick all checkboxes that were covered during this review
Step 4 — Save the note
Generate the filename as: citekey.md (e.g. Acemoglu2012.md)
Save the completed note to both locations without asking for permission:
-
Obsidian inbox (always):
/Users/michal/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/Michal/Research/00_Inbox/<citekey>.md -
Project literature folder (always): Detect the current project from the working directory or the path of the PDF. If the PDF is under
projects/<project_name>/, save toprojects/<project_name>/literature/<citekey>.md. If no project context is clear, save toprojects/literature/<citekey>.md. Create theliterature/folder if it does not exist.
Step 5 — Report to user
After saving, report:
- Citekey and title
- Final note path(s)
- Any fields that could not be filled (e.g. DOI not found in paper)
Rules
- Paper only. Do not add information that is not explicitly stated in the paper. If a field cannot be determined from the paper, write
N/Aor leave blank. - No internet. Do not use WebSearch or WebFetch to look up the paper.
- No permission prompts for saving to the Obsidian inbox or the project literature folder.
- For very long papers (> 60 pages), prioritise: abstract, introduction, methodology, results, conclusion — but still attempt all sections.
ARGUMENTS: $ARGUMENTS
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