| 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
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
