Syllabus — Course Supplementary Reading List
Generates a curated supplementary reading list from any course syllabus using Consensus academic search. It parses the syllabus to extract topics and learning outcomes, searches Consensus for recent peer-reviewed papers per topic, and produces a professionally formatted .docx with clickable Consensus links, plain-language summaries calibrated to audience level, and Bloom-higher-order discussion questions tied to course learning goals.
✨ What it does
- Grill-me intake with three forcing questions: syllabus input format, course audience, and year range.
- Parses syllabus to extract course title, topics, and learning outcomes (inferred ones marked).
- Groups topics into 6-12 sections with a user confirmation checkpoint before searching.
- Searches Consensus with applied-domain weaving and year filters, selecting 1-3 papers per section.
- Generates a .docx with clickable Consensus links, plain-language summaries, and higher-order discussion questions.
- Includes audit summary with query/paper/citation counts and error handling.
🎯 When to use it
- User uploads a syllabus, course outline, or curriculum document and wants supplementary readings.
- User asks to 'create a reading list from this syllabus' or 'find recent papers for my course'.
- User casually mentions a syllabus with an attached file, triggering the skill.
- Instructor or student needs recent peer-reviewed papers per course section for teaching or study.
🚀 How to use
Trigger by uploading a syllabus file or pasting syllabus content and requesting a reading list (e.g., 'create a reading list from this syllabus'). The skill will ask three intake questions (syllabus format, audience level, year range) and then a grouping confirmation before searching Consensus. Example prompts:
Create a supplementary reading list from this syllabus: [attach file]
Find recent papers for my course based on this syllabus: [paste content]
📄 Output: A professionally formatted .docx file with a supplementary reading list, including sections, papers with Consensus links, summaries, and discussion questions.
📦 Add this skill to Claude Code
# 1. Get the skills repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills /tmp/claude-skills
# 2. Copy this skill into your project (or ~/.claude/skills for all projects)
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/claude-skills/research/syllabus/skills/syllabus .claude/skills/syllabusSkill source: research/syllabus/skills/syllabus/SKILL.md
⚠️ Good to know
Requires a Consensus MCP connection, Node.js with the 'docx' package, and file reading capability; works natively in Claude Code CLI, and in Claude.ai with Consensus MCP + Code Execution + file upload.
❓ FAQ
What inputs does the skill require?
The skill requires a syllabus (file path, pasted content, or image) and answers to three intake questions: course audience, year range, and syllabus format.
How does the skill ensure paper quality?
It uses applied-domain weaving in searches, selects papers based on relevance, reviews, citation count, and applied-domain connection, and only uses papers returned by Consensus in the session.
What happens if a search returns no results?
The section is noted as 'limited results — consider manual supplementation' and the skill does not pad with fabricated entries.
🤖 Overview, features, install steps and FAQ were generated from the project's SKILL.md on Sep 4, 2026. Always check the original source before running commands.