Academic Text Polish

Rewrite and refine research paper text to improve grammar, clarity, fluency, and academic style while preserving technical accuracy and LaTeX integrity.

When to Use This Skill

• Polishing research paper text for conference submissions
• Improving grammar and sentence structure
• Enhancing fluency and natural phrasing for non-native speakers
• Refining technical writing for clarity and precision
• Preparing text for top-tier CS conferences (OSDI, NSDI, SOSP, SIGCOMM)

Core Principles

Apply these principles in order of priority:

1. Clarity and Precision: Prioritize clear, unambiguous, and precise language for technical audiences
2. Fluency: Ensure natural flow and smooth readability
3. Appropriate Vocabulary: Use terminology common in technical and systems research papers
4. Logical Cohesion: Assess and improve logical flow and argument structure
5. LaTeX Integrity: Respect original LaTeX syntax - only modify textual content within commands/environments

Writing Constraints

Hyphen Usage

• Avoid hyphens for connecting independent clauses
• Bad: "The system is fast - it processes data quickly"
• Good: "The system is fast, processing data quickly"
• Exception: Compound adjectives (e.g., "state-of-the-art") are acceptable

Voice Preference

• Prefer active voice for directness and clarity
• Preferred: "We implemented the prototype"
• Avoid: "The prototype was implemented by us"
• Use passive voice judiciously when the object is more important than the actor

Tense Guidelines

• Present tense for the author's work: "We implement a prototype..."
• Past tense for previous literature: "Smith et al. proposed..."

Acronym Handling

• Define on first use: "Network Address Translation (NAT) is widely used. NAT helps..."
• Use short form thereafter

Conciseness

• Eliminate redundancy without sacrificing clarity
• Be cautious about adding details - conference papers have strict page limits
• Remove unnecessary words and phrases

Target Audience

Graduate students, professors, and researchers in computer science. Write naturally for this technical audience without oversimplification.

Polishing Goals

Rewrite the text to achieve:

1. Correct grammatical errors (subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, etc.)
2. Improve sentence structure for clarity, conciseness, and flow
3. Ensure precise word choices appropriate for academic systems research
4. Enhance readability and fluency for natural reading
5. Maintain formal, objective, academic tone throughout
6. Identify potential logical gaps that might need substantiation

Output Requirements

Revised Text

Provide the polished version of the text

Change Justification

Explain each significant change with clear reasoning:

• Example: "Replaced 'got bigger' with 'increased' for formality"
• Example: "Restructured sentence for better subject-verb agreement"
• Example: "Combined sentences to improve flow"
• Example: "Changed to active voice for directness"

Optional: No Changes Needed

If the text is already well-written, state "No significant improvements needed" rather than making pedantic suggestions

Important Guidelines

• Aim for conference acceptance, not perfection
• Provide no advice when no meaningful improvement can be made
• Avoid pedantic or nit-picking changes
• Focus on significant improvements that enhance clarity or correctness
• Respect technical terminology and domain-specific phrasing
• Preserve the author's intended meaning and argument structure