thesis-word-formatter

Thesis Word Formatter

Overview

Converge "Word formatting organization before graduation thesis submission" into a single Skill.

The goal of this Skill is not to polish content, but to organize the thesis into a "nearly submittable" state: prioritize reading the school template and formatting requirements, unify elements such as heading levels, headers and footers, page numbers, table of contents, figure/table captions, references, and appendices, and clearly list the places that still require manual confirmation by the author.

Scope

• Applicable to: undergraduate graduation theses, graduation design specifications, first-draft formatting of master's theses
• Applicable input: user's thesis .docx + school template .docx or formatting guidelines document is optimal; school guideline text, text converted from screenshots, sample theses, and cover page requirements are also acceptable
• Mainly supports Word workflows. By default, assumes the user's final deliverable is .docx
• Core principle: only perform formatting and structural organization; do not arbitrarily rewrite academic viewpoints, data, or conclusions
• Priority: official school/department template > explicit supervisor requirements > past qualified samples > this Skill's general fallback guidelines

Workflow

1. First collect the formatting basis, and this step must be completed before actual formatting.

   • The first priority is to have the user provide any one of the following: the school's or department's Word template, thesis formatting guidelines, assignment brief, or past qualified samples.
   • If the user has already provided a template or guidelines, first understand the requirements, then begin formatting.
   • Only if the user explicitly says "there is no template/no guidelines", use references/common-checklist.md and references/fallback-baseline.md as fallbacks, and clearly inform them that "the current rules are general and do not guarantee full compliance with any particular school's requirements".
   • If the user only says "help me format it" but has not provided a template or guidelines and has not explicitly said there are none, first ask the user for the Word template or formatting requirements before continuing.

2. Clarify the boundaries of this task.

   • Determine whether the user wants a "checklist", "item-by-item revision suggestions", or "directly organize it into a submission-ready version".
   • By default, focus on Word formatting; do not proactively expand to plagiarism reduction, polishing, defense PPT, or plagiarism check explanations.
   • Make clear that the current object of processing is a Word document, and do not promise equivalent formatting fixes for PDF, Markdown, or LaTeX.

3. First perform a layout diagnosis, then start organizing.

   • Check whether the cover page, abstract, Chinese and English abstracts, table of contents, main body hierarchy, references, acknowledgements, and appendices are complete.
   • Check for common issues: chaotic heading levels, table of contents that cannot be updated, broken page numbers, discontinuous figure/table numbering, inconsistent caption formats, mixed reference styles, and inconsistent paragraph spacing and line spacing.
   • If what the user provided is not .docx, only output a Word formatting plan and structural suggestions; do not pretend that the internal styles of the docx have already been fixed.

4. Process in the order of "structure before style".

   • First unify the thesis composition order, for example cover page, declaration, Chinese abstract, English abstract, table of contents, main body, references, acknowledgements, appendices.
   • Then unify heading levels and naming rules, ensuring that 标题 1/2/3 maps correctly to the table of contents.
   • Then handle page numbers, section breaks, headers and footers, table/figure captions, numbering, and cross-references.
   • Finally, handle visual styles such as font, font size, line spacing, first-line indent, alignment, and margins.

5. When handling figures, tables, and references, give top priority to ensuring they are "verifiable".

   • Figures and tables must be checked for caption position, numbering continuity, and whether in-text citations appear.
   • For references, only unify the format and check the ordering; if citation information is missing or obviously incomplete, mark it as pending manual completion.
   • Do not fabricate DOIs, page numbers, or publication information.

6. When outputting results, you must provide three parts.

   • 排版依据: which specifications were adopted this time, and which were fallback assumptions.
   • 已完成项: clearly state which formatting issues were cleaned up.
   • 待确认项: which places require the user to go back into Word and check manually, such as section breaks, automatic table of contents, page number fields, and school cover page templates.

Output Contract

The default output structure is as follows:

1. 排版依据
2. 论文格式诊断
3. 已修正 / 已建议修正项
4. 待作者确认项
5. 提交前最终检查清单

Guardrails

• By default, first ask for the template or specification, then begin making formatting judgments.
• Do not treat formatting not required by the school as a hard standard.
• When there is no official template, do not say "it fully complies with the school's specifications"; you may only say "it has been organized according to general graduation thesis specifications".
• Do not rewrite the abstract, body argumentation, experimental results, or conclusion without authorization.
• For high-risk pages such as the cover page, originality statement, and authorization page, prioritize reminding the user to apply the school's official template.
• If multiple specifications are found to conflict with one another, prioritize listing the conflicts and giving the order in which they are adopted, rather than making an arbitrary decision on your own.
• If the user simultaneously requests "formatting + polishing + plagiarism reduction", complete the formatting task first, then separate out the follow-up tasks individually.
• The default final delivery format is Word; if the user uploads a PDF or plain text, you can only perform format diagnosis and provide Word revision suggestions.

When To Use References

• When general formatting check items are needed, read references/common-checklist.md
• When the user has no school specifications and needs a temporary fallback, read references/fallback-baseline.md
• When a detailed check of the cover page, abstract, table of contents, references, and appendix is needed, read references/china-thesis-special-sections.md

Required Intake

Before starting processing, prioritize collecting the following information:

1. The user's thesis Word file
2. The school or college template Word file
3. Format specification documents, screenshots, or links
4. Whether there are qualified samples from previous years
5. Whether the user wants to "check for problems" or "directly organize it into a submission version"

If items 2-4 are all absent and the user clearly states there are no specifications, then use the default rules.

Priority Checks For Chinese University Theses

• For the cover page, originality statement, and authorization page, prioritize applying the school template, and do not make a "self-made equivalent substitute"
• The Chinese abstract, English abstract, and keywords are often key points in school spot checks, so prioritize checking the title names, order, fonts, and pagination
• The table of contents must be automatically generated by Word; manually typed page numbers are prohibited
• References should first be unified to the national standard or school standard required by the school, without mixing multiple styles
• The appendix must remain consistent with the main text and references in hierarchy, numbering, and page numbering strategy

Example Requests

• "Help me format my undergraduate graduation thesis into a Word submission version according to the school's requirements"
• "Take a look at where there are problems with my thesis's table of contents, page numbers, and heading numbering"
• "I only have the school's formatting instructions and no template; help me organize a formatting execution checklist"
• "Check this thesis against common graduation thesis specifications and tell me what is still missing"
• "I don't have a school template, so just format it for me according to the general graduation thesis Word standards first."