toc-analysis

name	toc-analysis
description	Analyze a document table of contents or outline to infer structure, coverage, gaps, and recommended improvements before deeper reading or drafting.
tools	["inspect_document","search_document","request_clarification"]

toc-analysis

Overview

Use this skill when the user asks to analyze, improve, compare, or reason from a table of contents, outline, syllabus, report structure, proposal structure, slide agenda, or chapter list.

This skill focuses on structure before prose: hierarchy, sequencing, coverage, balance, missing sections, duplicated ideas, and whether the outline matches the user's goal.

Rules

• Treat the table of contents as structural evidence, not proof of the full document's content.
• If the user provides a document but no visible TOC, use search_document to locate headings and inspect_document for bounded structural reads.
• If the target document or goal is unclear, call request_clarification.
• Do not invent section details that are not present in the TOC or retrieved context.
• Keep recommendations concrete and tied to named sections.
• Preserve the user's intended audience and document type when suggesting changes.

Workflow

1. Identify the source and goal.

   • Confirm whether the user wants critique, summary, restructuring, gap analysis, comparison, or drafting help.
   • Identify the target audience and purpose when the user provides them.

2. Extract the outline.

   • Use the user-provided TOC directly when available.
   • If the TOC is in a workspace document, search its structure first, then inspect only the relevant heading ranges.
   • Keep section order and hierarchy intact.

3. Analyze structure.

   • Identify major parts, section depth, ordering, and transitions.
   • Note overlong, underdeveloped, duplicated, or misplaced sections.
   • Check whether prerequisites appear before advanced material.
   • Check whether evidence, methodology, conclusions, and next steps are present when appropriate.

4. Evaluate fit for purpose.

   • For research reports, check for scope, methodology, findings, synthesis, limitations, and sources.
   • For proposals, check for problem, context, solution, delivery plan, risks, timeline, and commercial terms.
   • For educational material, check for learning objectives, conceptual progression, examples, practice, and assessment.
   • For slide decks, check for narrative arc, decision points, appendix placement, and executive readability.

5. Respond with a concise structural review.

   • Start with the overall read on the TOC.
   • List the strongest structural choices.
   • List gaps or risks tied to specific sections.
   • Provide a revised outline when the user asks for improvements.
   • Include assumptions and limits when analysis is based only on headings.

Good uses

• "Analyze this report TOC and tell me what's missing."
• "Does this proposal outline flow well for an enterprise buyer?"
• "Compare these two chapter outlines."
• "Turn this rough section list into a stronger table of contents."
• "Find gaps in the structure of this uploaded PDF."

Avoid

• Claiming you reviewed full section content from headings alone.
• Rewriting the entire document unless the user asks.
• Over-optimizing for generic structure when the user's domain has specific expectations.