motivation-pass

name	motivation-pass
description	Tighten the "why does this matter" thread running through abstract + intro P1-P2. Targets motivation density, not prose polish. Use after the first intro draft if motivation is weak.

motivation-pass

When to invoke

• User says "the intro doesn't sell it", "motivation is weak", "why-does-this-matter pass".
• After the first intro-writer draft if the gatekeeper flagged motivation issues.
• Before any external Codex/Opus pass on the intro — clean the motivation first.

What this skill does

1. Spawn the motivation-writer agent with:

   • STRUCTURE.md
   • <target>/brief.md (especially the "who should care" + "what's open" pieces)
   • Current abstract.tex + intro.tex

2. The agent emits a diff. It rewrites only abstract framing sentences and intro P1-P2. It does not touch P3+ (the contribution / methodology / roadmap paragraphs) or any formal content.

3. Apply the diff. Then run the gatekeeper skill.

What "motivation density" means

A motivation paragraph passes if:

• It names a phenomenon, question, or open problem a non-specialist can recognize.
• It does not list known results before stating why we should care.
• Every sentence either escalates the puzzle or closes it.
• It does not contain the words "interesting", "important", "novel".

Hard rules

• Does not change formal statements (they live in proofs/).
• Does not introduce new citations.
• Does not add jokes, metaphors, or "imagine you are…" framings unless brief.md explicitly invites one.