Reference Generator
Overview
Generate high-quality, verified reference lists for educational textbooks with level-appropriate content and quantity. The skill analyzes course descriptions to determine the target audience and creates references that match the readers' level, from fun and engaging resources for junior-high students to authoritative peer-reviewed papers for graduate students.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when:
- Creating a new intelligent textbook that needs a comprehensive reference list
- Adding references to an existing textbook
- Updating or expanding references for educational content
- A user explicitly requests reference generation
Reference Generation Workflow
Step 1: Analyze the Course Description
Read the /docs/course-description.md file to determine:
- Grade level or target audience (junior-high, senior-high, college, graduate)
- Prerequisites - indicates reader sophistication
- Subject matter - determines reference topics
- Learning objectives - guides reference selection
The grade level determines:
- Junior-high (middle school): 10 references - fun, engaging, visual resources
- Senior-high (high school): 20 references - mix of accessible and academic sources
- College (undergraduate): 30 references - more academic, some peer-reviewed papers
- Professional Development: 30 references - more academic, some peer-reviewed papers
- Graduate (masters/PhD): 40 references - heavily peer-reviewed, authoritative sources
Step 2: Check for Chapter-Level Content
Before generating references, search for chapter content in the textbook:
# Look for the chapters directory
find /docs/chapters
# Look for chapter files
find /docs -name "chapter*.md" -o -name "*-chapter-*.md"
If chapter content exists, use the AskUserQuestion tool to ask:
- "Would you like book-level references (in /docs/references.md) or chapter-level references (at the end of each chapter)?"
Step 3: Generate References with Verification
For each reference, perform the following:
- Search for authoritative sources using WebSearch tool
- Verify each URL using WebFetch to ensure the link is valid and accessible
- Format according to the standard template (see Format Specification below)
Quality Guidelines by Level:
Junior-High (10 references):
- Educational websites with interactive content
- Videos from reputable educational channels
- Visual resources, infographics, and animations
- Age-appropriate articles from educational publishers
- Museums, science centers, and educational organizations
Senior-High (20 references):
- Mix of educational websites and academic sources
- Reputable news organizations and science journalism
- Educational videos and documentaries
- Introduction to academic journals (more accessible papers)
- Government and NGO educational resources
College (30 references):
- Peer-reviewed journal articles (50%+ of references)
- Academic textbooks and monographs
- University course materials and lectures
- Research institution publications
- Industry white papers and technical reports
Graduate (40 references):
- Heavily weighted toward peer-reviewed journals (70%+ of references)
- Seminal papers in the field
- Recent research (last 5 years) showing current state of field
- Meta-analyses and systematic reviews
- Academic books from university presses
Step 4: Format Each Reference
Use the following format for every reference:
1. [Link Title](URL) - YYYY-MM-DD - Publication Name - Brief description of resource and specific relevance to the textbook topic.
Format Specifications:
- Link Title: Exact title of the article, paper, video, or resource
- URL: Verified, working link (use WebFetch to confirm)
- Date: Publication date in YYYY-MM-DD format (use YYYY-MM or YYYY if day/month unavailable)
- Publication Name: Journal, website, organization, or publisher
- Description: 1-2 sentences explaining what the resource covers and why it's relevant to this specific textbook
Example References:
1. [How Neural Networks Really Work](https://distill.pub/2020/circuits/zoom-in/) - 2020-03-10 - Distill - Interactive visualization explaining the inner workings of neural networks through explorable explanations, perfect for visual learners beginning their ML journey.
2. [Attention Is All You Need](https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762) - 2017-06-12 - arXiv - Seminal paper introducing the Transformer architecture that revolutionized natural language processing and forms the foundation for modern LLMs like GPT and BERT.
3. [Khan Academy: Introduction to Algorithms](https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/algorithms) - 2024-01-15 - Khan Academy - Free, interactive course covering fundamental algorithms including sorting and searching, with visualizations and practice exercises suitable for high school students.
Step 5: Write References to File
For book-level references:
Create or overwrite /docs/references.md with:
# References
This textbook draws upon the following high-quality resources:
[Generated numbered list of references]
---
*References last updated: [Current Date]*
For chapter-level references:
Append to each chapter file (e.g., /docs/chapters/01-introduction/index.md):
## References
[Generated numbered list of references for this chapter]
Step 6: Validation and Reporting
After generating references:
- Count the references to ensure correct quantity for level
- Verify all URLs were checked with WebFetch
- Report summary to user:
- Number of references generated
- Target level identified
- File location
- Any URLs that failed verification (if any)
URL Verification Process
Critical: Every URL must be verified before inclusion.
# Use WebFetch for each URL
WebFetch(url=reference_url, prompt="Is this page accessible? Provide the title and a brief description of the content.")
If a URL returns an error or redirect:
- Try to find an updated or archived version
- Use Internet Archive / Wayback Machine if appropriate
- Skip the reference if no valid URL exists
- Note in the report any references that couldn't be verified
- For academic papers, the full document might be behind a paywall. Just reference the citation for these resources. Prefer references on reputable sites like Google Scholar.
- For academic textbooks, prefer references that have many citations.
Reference Quality Checklist
Before finalizing references, ensure:
- [ ] Correct quantity for target level (10/20/30/40)
- [ ] All URLs verified and accessible
- [ ] Publication dates included
- [ ] Mix of resource types (articles, videos, papers)
- [ ] Descriptions explain relevance to textbook
- [ ] Academic rigor matches target audience
- [ ] No duplicate sources
- [ ] Proper formatting throughout
Example Usage Scenarios
Scenario 1: New textbook
User: "Generate references for my textbook"
→ Read /docs/course-description.md
→ Identify level (e.g., college)
→ Check for chapters (none found)
→ Generate 30 verified references
→ Write to /docs/references.md
Scenario 2: Existing textbook with chapters
User: "Add references to my course"
→ Read /docs/course-description.md
→ Find chapter files exist
→ Ask: "Book-level or chapter-level references?"
→ User selects chapter-level
→ Generate references for each chapter
→ Append to each chapter file
Finish
- Report the number of references generated and indicate the number of working links
- Tell the user that for academic papers, a citation graph skill can be used create a list of the most highly sited papers that influence this topic
Resources
This skill uses web-based verification tools built into Claude Code:
- WebSearch: Find authoritative sources on topics
- WebFetch: Verify URLs are accessible and extract metadata
- AskUserQuestion: Clarify book-level vs chapter-level preference
No additional scripts, references, or assets are required for this skill.
