Outline for an academic paper
Professional structure: role, context, objective, details, steps, format, criteria and self-check. Designed for better results, not guaranteed ones: always review the answer.
Never use real personal data. If you need to, run it through the data cleaner.
## Role Act as a university supervisor who oversees dissertations. ## Context I have to write an academic paper and do not know how to organise it. ## Objective Define the question, objectives, outline and work plan. ## Details (fill in what is in square brackets) - [topic] - [type of paper and length] - [referencing style: APA, Harvard…] - [deadline] ## Step-by-step instructions 1. Propose three specific research questions. 2. For the chosen one, define the general and specific objectives. 3. Design an outline with an indicative length per section. 4. Say what kind of sources to look for and where, without inventing references. ## Output format Proposed questions, objectives, outline and weekly timetable. ## Quality criteria - It does not invent authors or quotes. - The question can be answered within the length. - It follows the referencing style. ## Self-check Before answering, check every quality criterion. If information is missing, ask me instead of making it up, and at the end state what you have assumed.
Try it here
Open model · not frontier
This tester runs on Gemma 4 26B (Google), an open-weights model served by Cloudflare. It is not a frontier model like the paid versions of ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude: it is faster and more modest, and it will sometimes get things wrong. It shows how a good prompt behaves, not what the most advanced AI can do. Paste the prompt into your usual assistant for its best version.
Fill in the details and try the prompt with an open model without leaving the page.
Objective
Define the question, objectives, outline and work plan.
When to use it
This prompt is ideal when staring at a blank document, feeling overwhelmed by a broad dissertation topic, or preparing for your initial meeting with your supervisor. It sets robust boundaries early on. However, it is not suitable if you are seeking automated drafting, need pre-written paragraphs, or already have an approved departmental structure that your university requires you to follow strictly without deviation.
Worked example: input (fictional data)
Worked example: full response
Variants
Fast-track outline
Skip the multiple research question options. Choose the most direct angle for the stated topic immediately and generate a concise five-part structure with approximate word counts and a fortnightly deadline breakdown tailored to the target word length.
Master's dissertation depth
Frame the response for a postgraduate master's level. Focus heavily on methodological rigor, identifying epistemological positioning, theoretical frameworks, ethical scrutiny hurdles, and primary data collection challenges alongside the outline and indicative word budgets.
Systematic literature review focus
Adapt the structure specifically for a standalone systematic literature review paper. Replace primary data empirical sections with PRISMA protocol guidance, inclusion and exclusion criteria development, thematic coding syntheses, and critical quality appraisal stages.
Common mistakes
- Using references without checking them: it may invent them.
- Submitting generated text without checking your institution's AI rules.
- Choosing an excessively broad research scope that cannot be properly answered within your word limit. How to avoid it: Narrow your focus to a specific sector, population group, or geographic region before finalising your paper structure.
- Allocating equal word counts to all sections rather than weighting the analytical literature and findings. How to avoid it: Ensure your literature review and critical discussion receive roughly fifty to sixty percent of your total word count.
- Drafting your main chapters before agreeing your core question and secondary research objectives. How to avoid it: Write your objectives down clearly and check that every planned section directly addresses at least one objective.
- Leaving formatting, citation conventions, and reference checking until the final forty-eight hours before submission. How to avoid it: Record complete bibliographic details in your chosen referencing format as you read, avoiding rushed citations later.
Related guide
- Do a school assignment with AI without plagiarising
- AI for students: study better and Gemini’s student offer
General and assistant-specific tips
Tips by assistant
- Gemini: Deep Research searches the web and cites sources; open the links and check them.
- Claude: ask for the result as an artifact to view and edit it separately from the chat.
Getting the most out of it
- Paste the prompt as is and only replace what is in [brackets].
- If the answer does not fit, do not start over: ask for “shorter”, “more formal” or “as a table”.
- Always review the result before using it: AI can get facts, dates or names wrong.
Before you paste it: quick checklist
- State your starting level: “I know nothing” or “I know the basics”.
- Ask for everyday examples and a review question at the end.
- If something isn’t clear, ask it to “explain it another way”.
- Check dates, figures and definitions against a reliable source.
How to adapt it to your assistant
The template works the same in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude because it only uses plain language. If your assistant supports fixed instructions (custom instructions, Gems or projects), you can store your preferred tone and format there and paste only the variable part. On a free plan, split long requests into two or three shorter messages.