Use to structure a Cell Article and hold its length — Summary, Introduction, Results, Discussion, STAR Methods, figure legends, references — with main-text length and display-item budgets, and Results subheadings driving the single arc.
SkillScore100Maintained
Automatic
◆Writing & Editing pack
Last verified 8/31/2026
What it changes
Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 16 of 22 without it.
Without skill73%
With skill100%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Recommends cell-figures as the next skill step
Flags free-text methods sections as requiring conversion to STAR Methods
Uses the bracketed tag format 【Methods format】 to flag narrative methods
and 5 more in the full report
6 fixed16 passed either way0 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+27 pp
Tokens
+29%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-18%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/31/2026v122 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 6 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 6
Prompt
List the mandatory ordered sequence of sections for a primary Cell Article main manuscript text prior to submission.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Lists Summary, Introduction, Results, Discussion, STAR Methods, Figure Legends, References, and Supplemental Information in order
Missed
Passed
case-15 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/31/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md77 linessingle file
Main-Text Writing & Structure (cell-writing)
When to trigger
Unsure how a Cell Article is structured.
The main text is over length, or the Discussion repeats the Results.
The Methods are written as a free-text section (Cell uses STAR Methods).
Results wander instead of advancing the single narrative arc.
Cell Article structure (in order)
Summary — single paragraph, ≤ ~150 words (cell-summary).
Introduction — ≈3–4 short paragraphs setting up the hypothesis (cell-framing).
Results — the bulk; organized by the arc, with descriptive subheadings.
Discussion — concise interpretation, limitations, significance; does not re-list results.
STAR Methods — Structured, Transparent, Accessible Reporting (separate skill, cell-star-methods).
Supplemental information — supporting figures/tables/videos.
Cell does not use a free-text Methods section — methods live in STAR Methods with a Key Resources Table. This is non-negotiable for Cell Press.
Length and display-item budget
Main text ≈ 45,000 characters including spaces (this typically counts Introduction, Results, Discussion, and figure legends, but not STAR Methods/references) — a working target; confirm the current cap.
Display items: up to ~7–8 figures/tables typical for a Cell Article; additional supporting items go to Supplemental Information.
STAR Methods and references are outside the main-text character budget but have their own expectations.
Numbers are working targets. The principle is fixed: Cell Articles are full stories but tightly written; supporting detail goes to Supplemental Information and STAR Methods.
Results: subheadings that carry the arc
Use descriptive subheadings that read as mini-claims ("Protein X is required for Y", not "Microscopy experiments").
Each Results block: claim sentence first, then the evidence (figure callout + numbers + statistics), then the inference.
Order by the logic of the argument (phenomenon → mechanism → causality → generality), not by chronology of experiments.
Each subheading should map to one or two figures.
Discussion discipline (concise)
Interpret — don't recap. State what the mechanism means for the field.