thesis-chapter-plan

name: thesis-chapter-plandescription: "Plan one thesis or dissertation chapter in detail: the chapter's claim and its job in the thesis, section-by-section argument, the evidence and sources for each section, a word budget, the figures and tables, and a writing schedule with a first-draft date. Use when asked to plan my chapter, I do not know how to start my discussion chapter, structure my methods chapter, break this chapter into sections, or make a writing plan for chapter four. Produces a chapter brief, a section table with word counts and evidence, a list of gaps to fill before writing, and a dated schedule. Distinct from thesis-outline, which structures the whole thesis."version: 1.0.0

Thesis Chapter Plan

A chapter stalls when the writer opens a blank document with a title and eighty pages of notes. This skill works one level below the thesis outline: it fixes what this chapter must prove, divides it into sections that each do one job, and gives each a word budget and the evidence it will use. The student then writes sections, not a chapter.

What This Skill Produces

• A chapter brief: the claim in one sentence, the chapter's job in the thesis, what the reader must know by the end
• A section table: purpose, main points, evidence, word budget
• Signposting: how the chapter opens and how it hands over to the next
• Figures and tables needed, with their status
• A list of gaps to close before or during writing
• A writing schedule with a first full-draft date

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• Discipline, degree, and the thesis argument or research questions
• Which chapter, its type (introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, or a paper-style chapter) and the target length
• What material exists: notes, data, analyses, drafts, published papers
• The previous and next chapters' roles
• Department or supervisor expectations and any required structure
• Time available per week and the deadline for this chapter

Framework

1. One-sentence claim. If the chapter cannot be summarised in a sentence, it is two chapters or none.
2. Job in the thesis. Which research question it answers or which step of the argument it supplies.
3. Sections do one thing. Five to eight sections. Each has a purpose line beginning with a verb: establishes, compares, reports, explains, limits.
4. Type-specific order. Methods: design, participants or data, procedure, analysis, ethics, limitations. Results: by research question, not by test. Discussion: answer, interpretation, relation to literature, limitations, implications. Literature review: by theme and debate, ending at the gap.
5. Evidence mapped to sections. Sources, data, figures. A section with no evidence is a gap, listed.
6. Word budget. Allocate by importance to the argument, not by how much material exists.
7. Schedule by section. Start with the section that is easiest to write, not the introduction. Introductions and conclusions are written last.
8. Definition of done for a first draft: every section has prose, every claim has a citation or a marked placeholder.

Output Format

Chapter plan: [number and title]

Claim: [one sentence] Job in the thesis: [question answered or step supplied] By the end the reader knows: [two or three points] Target length: [words]

Opening and hand-over: [how the chapter begins; the final paragraph's link to the next chapter]

Figures and tables

Gaps to close

• [reading, analysis or data still needed, and which section it blocks]

Schedule

First full draft: [date]. Done means: [definition]

Assumptions and gaps

• [Expectations assumed about structure or length]
• [The decision that most needs the supervisor's view]

Quality Checks

• The claim fits in one sentence
• Each section has a purpose line and evidence
• Word budgets sum to the target
• Results are organised by question
• The schedule starts with a body section, not the introduction
• Gaps are listed with the section they block

Anti-Patterns

• Do not plan sections as topics ("Background") without a purpose.
• Do not allocate words by volume of notes.
• Do not write prose for the student. This is a plan.
• Do not invent sources or findings to fill a section.
• Do not schedule the introduction first.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Plan my discussion chapter. Here are my three main findings."
• "My literature review is 15,000 words of summaries. Help me restructure it."
• "Break my methods chapter into sections with word counts."
• "I have six weeks for chapter four. Make a writing schedule."

Run this skill in your browser: https://mohitagw15856.github.io/pm-claude-skills/skill/thesis-chapter-plan.html