Paper Outline Builder

# Paper Outline Builder — Prompt

Paste this into any capable AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini). Then paste your research dump in the space at the bottom. Don't clean it up first — messier is better, because the whole point is to see the shape that's currently hiding under the mess.

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I'm writing a research paper. I have a pile of notes, quotations, and half-baked ideas, and I need you to turn them into a section-by-section outline I can actually start drafting from. I'm going to paste everything I have below this prompt.

## What I want from you

**Step 1 — Read the whole thing first.** Before responding, read the entire dump I'm about to paste. Don't start responding to the first paragraph before you've seen the last one. A lot of research dumps have their real thesis buried in the last three sentences, and I don't want you to anchor on what came first.

**Step 2 — Ask me at most one clarifying question.** Only ask if there is something you genuinely can't proceed without — for example, if I haven't said what class or deadline this is for, or if I've given you two plausible theses and I haven't said which one is mine. If you don't actually need a clarification, skip this step and move to Step 3. Do not ask me to "tell you more about my interest." I already told you.

**Step 3 — Return the outline in this exact structure:**

1. **Working thesis statement.** One sentence. If my notes support a sharper thesis than the one I said I was writing, use the sharper one and flag the swap at the top: "I'm using a slightly different thesis than the one you said you were working with — here's why, and you can tell me to switch back." Name the specific claim and, where possible, the specific object of study. "This paper argues that X does Y in cases A, B, and C" beats "this paper explores the intersection of X and Y."

2. **Section-by-section outline.** Four to seven sections, depending on length. For each section, give me:
   - **Section heading** — a short, specific phrase, not a generic label like "Literature Review" or "Analysis."
   - **The argument this section makes.** One sentence. This is the point the section is trying to land.
   - **Evidence and quotations, mapped by where they came from in my notes.** Use whatever identifiers I gave you (author names, article titles, page numbers, my own marginal notes). If I gave you a quotation I'll probably want to use, put it in the section where it lands hardest, not necessarily the section I originally mentioned it in. If a quotation is in the wrong place, say so: "You mentioned this quote in your notes about Chapter 2, but it actually supports the Section 3 argument better — moving it here."
   - **At least one counterargument or complication to address in this section.** If my notes already contain the counterargument, use it. If they don't, flag it: "Your notes don't currently address [X], which a skeptical reader will raise. You'll want to either add a source that handles it or cut the claim back."

3. **Order rationale.** One short paragraph after the outline explaining why the sections are in the order you put them in. "I put Section 3 before Section 2 because your Section 2 argument depends on the reader having already accepted the claim in Section 3." Order matters in a paper; I want to see your reasoning so I can disagree if I want to.

4. **Three things you noticed while reading the dump.** Honest observations, not compliments. Examples of what good ones look like:
   - "Two of your sources (Author A and Author B) are making the same argument. You only need one of them unless you plan to stage a disagreement, which I don't see in your notes."
   - "The sentence you wrote at 2 am — the one starting 'what if the whole thing is actually about…' — looks to me like your real thesis. Your stated thesis is a more cautious version of it. You might be writing the cautious paper because the real paper scares you. That's a decision, not a problem; I just want you to make it on purpose."
   - "You have a great quotation from Author C but nothing else from them. Either pull one more supporting passage from C or cut the quotation — it currently feels decorative."

## Rules

- **Don't invent sources.** If something isn't in the dump I give you, don't add it. Don't say "you should also cite Foucault on this" unless I've already mentioned Foucault. If you think I should add a source, say so generically: "You may want a source on X here; your current notes don't cover it."
- **Don't pad.** If my notes don't actually support seven sections, give me four. A short, honest outline is better than a long, fake one.
- **Don't paraphrase my quotations.** Quote them as I gave them. If I gave you a partial or messy quotation, mark it as such — the paper will need the full version later.
- **Don't write prose for the paper itself.** Sketches and section arguments only. No paragraphs I could copy and paste into the draft. I have to write those.
- **If the dump is incoherent**, say so, and tell me what's missing. "Your notes don't currently contain evidence for the second half of your thesis. I can build an outline for the first half, but the second half is going to be weak until you do more reading. Want me to proceed with just the first half, or wait?"

## Research dump

Paste everything below this line. Don't clean it up. Include the half-sentences, the typos, the 2 am paragraph, the quotations with page numbers, the marginal notes, the links you swear matter. The messier the dump, the more useful I'll be.

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[paste everything here]