Use when positioning an American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) manuscript in the literature. AERJ readers span the whole field, so the paper must engage the literatures a general education-research audience expects and speak past its own subfield. Builds the positioning argument; it does not write the literature review for you.
SkillScore73Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 16 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 15 of 22 without it.
Without skill68%
With skill73%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Output uses the tag 【Gap】
Output uses the tag 【Hand-off】
Output uses the tag 【Conversation map】
and 7 more in the full report
3 fixed13 passed either way4 still failing2 broke
Pass-rate lift
+5 pp
Tokens
+20%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-23%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v116 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 3 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 3
Prompt
I'm drafting the literature review for an AERJ submission evaluating high school math tracking policies, but my draft currently focuses only on recent math education intervention studies. Could you structure a literature positioning overview for this project? Include the primary field-level constructs/debates, the specific unaddressed mechanism or question, a connection to a broader adjacent literature, a field-wide takeaway sentence, the conceptual hand-off from gap to framework, and the recommended follow-up module.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Output uses the tag 【Conversation map】
Missed
Passed
Output uses the tag 【Gap】
Missed
Passed
Output uses the tag 【Cross-subfield link】
Missed
Passed
Output uses the tag 【So-what-for-the-field】
Missed
Passed
Output uses the tag 【Hand-off】
Missed
Passed
Output uses the tag 【Next】aerj-theory-and-framework
Missed
Passed
case-02 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/15/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md86 linessingle file
Literature Positioning (aerj-literature-positioning)
An AERJ paper must locate itself in the field-wide conversation, not just a niche citation cluster.
The literature review establishes the gap, the stakes, and why this study advances understanding for a
general education-research reader.
When to trigger
Drafting or revising the literature/background section
A reviewer said the paper "doesn't engage the relevant literature" or "talks only to insiders"
Establishing the gap the study fills and why it matters broadly
Reconciling literatures across subfields or methods
How to position
Map the conversation, not a pile of citations. Organize by debate or construct, not by author.
Show the reader the shape of what is known and where it disagrees.
Engage what AERJ readers expect. Cite the field-defining and lens-relevant work (policy /
organizational / equity literatures; learning / teaching / development literatures), plus the
methodological literature your design rests on.
Name the gap precisely. Not "little is known" — specify the unanswered question, the unresolved
tension, or the untested mechanism your study addresses.
Cross subfields deliberately. Connect to at least one adjacent literature so the contribution
reads as field-wide, not subfield-only.
Set up the framework. The review should hand off cleanly to aerj-theory-and-framework: the gap
motivates the conceptual frame.
The "so what for the field" test
Write one sentence a researcher in a different education subfield would underline. If the only people
who would care are already in your niche, broaden the framing or the literatures you engage.
Anti-patterns
Citation dumping with no synthesis or argument
Reviewing only your own subfield's recent work; ignoring foundational or adjacent literatures
A gap stated as "no one has studied X in this exact setting" with no broader stake
Strawmanning prior work rather than engaging its strongest version
Mismatched citations to the wrong education-research debate
Use when positioning an American Journal of Sociology (AJS) manuscript within the literature so it reads as in dialogue with current sociology. AJS reviewers are assigned by readers who locate the paper's substantive area and method, and the journal prizes engagement with live theoretical debates. Maps the conversation; it does not write the literature review.