Keep citations honest in business documents — every load-bearing claim sourced, links that actually contain the claim, the as-of dates that keep numbers honest, and the internal-vs-external sourcing rules for decks and memos.
SkillScore86Maintained
Automatic
◆Writing & Editing pack
Last verified 8/14/2026
What it changes
Passed 19 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 17 of 22 without it.
Without skill77%
With skill86%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Attaches an explicit 'as of' date designation to the metric.
Includes an audit table with the columns 'Claim', 'Status', and 'Fix'.
Requires unverified assertions to be rewritten using softened estimate language.
and 1 more in the full report
4 fixed15 passed either way1 still failing2 broke
Pass-rate lift
+9 pp
Tokens
+48%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-8%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/14/2026v119 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 4 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 4
Prompt
Here is a claim from our executive summary: 'Enterprise adoption grew 50% year-over-year.' Source: Salesforce CRM report, July 10. Output the formal audit response including the exact table schema required for claim reviews.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Includes an audit table with the columns 'Claim', 'Status', and 'Fix'.
Missed
Passed
case-12 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/14/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md60 linessingle file
Citation Hygiene Skill
Business documents run on unsourced confidence: "studies show," "industry-standard," the market-size number nobody can trace, the chart with no as-of date. Each unsourced load-bearing claim is a small loan against credibility — called in the moment a skeptic asks "says who?" in front of the room. Citation hygiene is not academia: it's the practical discipline that every claim someone might challenge or act on carries its source, the link actually contains the claim (the classic drive-by cite doesn't), numbers wear their dates, and claims that can't be sourced get softened or cut before the meeting does it for you.
What This Skill Produces
The claim audit — the doc's load-bearing claims listed, each: sourced / sourceable / soften / cut
The fixes — sources attached (verified to contain the claim — the source-triangulation quick check), softenings drafted, the cut list
The venue format — how citations look here: footnotes for memos, the source line for slides, links for docs
The norm card — the team's three citation rules, postable
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
The document — and its stakes/venue (the board deck's bar differs from the team memo's; both have one)
Which claims are load-bearing — the ones decisions or credibility rest on; hygiene triages (sourcing every sentence is academia cosplay — sourcing none is the current problem)
The available sources — where the numbers came from (the analyst's model? a report? memory?) — "memory" is an honest answer that routes to softening
Internal-data provenance — for internal numbers: which system, what query, as of when — internal claims need internal citations too ("revenue dashboard, July 15" beats "our data shows")
Framework: The Hygiene Rules
Triage by load-bearing: the claims that carry the recommendation, the sizing, or the urgency get the audit; connective prose doesn't. The test: if challenged in the room, would the author need to defend it? Then it needs its source now, cheaply, instead of live, expensively.
The link must contain the claim: the drive-by cite — a link that discusses the topic but never states the number — is the most common citation fraud, usually accidental (the chain of paraphrase drifted). The verify step: open the source, find the sentence. Absent, the claim inherits the source's actual wording or loses the cite.
Numbers wear dates and denominators: "as of Q2 2026" on every market figure and internal metric ("40% growth" — of what, since when?); an undated number in a living deck becomes silently false on schedule. Internal numbers cite system + date ("CRM export, Jul 15") so the inevitable "that doesn't match my dashboard" resolves in seconds.
Unsourceable claims soften or die: the options, in order — find the source · soften to earned confidence ("we believe, based on [basis]" / "directionally," per the triangulation phrasing rules) · attribute honestly ("our estimate") · cut. What never survives: the bare assertion whose defense is hope.
Venue formats keep it light: slides get the small source line (source, date) per chart/claim · memos get footnotes or inline links · docs get links. The norm card is three lines: load-bearing claims carry sources · numbers carry dates · "studies show" is banned without the study — light enough to enforce, sharp enough to matter.
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