What’s inside

One SKILL.md (the playbook) + one starter template. A preview:

Academic Argument Deck

When to use

• You need to present a thesis, seminar paper, or dissertation chapter to an academic audience
• Your argument has real evidence and real objections, and you want the deck to show both honestly
• You are defending a proposal, prospectus, or literature review and the committee will probe the weak spots
• You have a conference talk where the slides must carry the argument, not decorate it
• Your current draft is 40 slides of undifferentiated bullet points and nobody can find the claim

Workflow

1. State the thesis on one slide (input: your paper or notes → output: thesis slide)
   Write the thesis as a single contestable sentence — a claim someone could disagree with, not a topic. Put it on its own slide with the 2–3 key terms defined beneath it. If the thesis needs a paragraph to explain, it is two theses; split it or narrow it before building anything else.
2. Map the evidence (input: thesis + sources → output: evidence outline)
   List each supporting point as its own claim, and under each claim put the specific evidence: the study, text, dataset, or observation it rests on, with a citation. One claim per slide, one slide per claim. Cut any point whose evidence is "it seems plausible" — in a seminar room, that slide is where the Q&A will hurt.
3. Steel-man the counterarguments (input: evidence outline → output: objection slides)
   Write out the strongest objections to your thesis as fairly as you can, each with the best evidence for the other side. Give each major objection its own slide, then answer it on the following slide with a rebuttal, a concession, or a qualification of your thesis. A deck that hides its objections invites the audience to raise them; a deck that answers them earns trust.
4. Build the deck (input: full outline → output: slide deck)
   Order the slides: question and stakes, thesis, roadmap, evidence (one claim per slide), counterarguments and replies, conclusion and implications, limitations and next steps. Keep each slide to one idea, one visual or short quotation, and as few words as the argument allows. Speaker notes carry the detail the slides omit.
5. Prepare for Q&A (input: finished deck → output: appendix + anticipated questions)
   Add an appendix with the slides you cut: extra data, definitions, method details, and full references. Then list the five hardest questions you expect and draft a two-sentence answer for each. If you cannot answer one, say so in the deck's limitations slide — an acknowledged gap beats a discovered one.

Output spec

Template preview

Academic Argument Deck — Outline Template

One argument = one deck. Fill in the thesis and evidence before building slides.

Thesis

Thesis (one contestable sentence): {claim someone could disagree with} Key terms to define: {term 1} — {definition} | {term 2} — {definition}

Question & stakes

Research question: {question} Why it matters: {2–3 sentences — who cares, and why now}

Evidence map (one claim per slide)

Claims cut for weak evidence: {claim} — {why it was cut}

Counterarguments (steel-man, then reply)

Slide order checklist

[ ] Title [ ] Question & stakes [ ] Thesis (+ key terms) [ ] Roadmap

Buy the full skill pack — $4.99 Pro — all 471 skills