nsfc-length-aligner_skill

Overview

This skill quantifies and aligns the length of NSFC proposal manuscripts to budgeted page/character targets and provides focused rewrite suggestions. It detects which files or sections are over- or under-budget and produces action lists plus meaning-preserving expansion or compression to meet requirements. The tool emphasizes measurable, repeatable checks and a closed-loop edit → recheck workflow.

How this skill works

The tool parses the LaTeX project tree (following main.tex includes) or a compiled PDF and measures per-file and per-section character and page counts against a configured length standard. It outputs a human-readable report and machine-readable JSON showing deltas, section contributions, and ranking of the largest deviations. Based on the report, it recommends targeted edits and can perform conservative, meaning-preserving expansions or compressions to hit the budget without changing the argument flow.

When to use it

• Before finalizing an NSFC submission to verify page and character budgets.
• When certain proposal parts feel subjectively too short or too long and need quantification.
• To create a prioritized edit plan targeting the largest deviations first.
• After edits, to re-run and confirm the proposal now meets page/character constraints.
• When you need to expand or compress text while preserving the original meaning and evidence chain.

Best practices

• Set the length standard to the current year’s guideline in the configuration before running checks.
• Prefer passing the compiled PDF for accurate page counts and use character counts for deterministic rewrite loops.
• Read the generated length_report.md and JSON before editing to localize changes to 1–2 offending sections when possible.
• When expanding, add verifiable definitions, hypotheses, experimental contrasts, and risk mitigation rather than generic filler.
• When compressing, remove repetition and shrink background; preserve the problem-method-verification sequence.
• Always re-run the check after edits to complete the edit → recheck closed loop.

Example use cases

• You suspect the Research Content section is too short—run the checker to quantify and get section-level targets.
• Your compiled proposal hits 31 pages—identify which files contribute most and compress targeted subsections to reach ≤28 pages.
• You need to pad a short 'Research Basis' section with evidence-linked details without adding new claims.
• Create an ordered action list to fix the top 3 files with the largest |delta| before deadline.
• Validate that post-edit changes kept argument flow intact by re-running the length audit.