cite-check

# Cite Check

A pretty fake citation is still a fake. Prove the source exists. Then dress it in the house style.

Inspired by SkillMedev/skills citation-tracker (MIT). Original Grok remake. Complements claim-line (essay spine with `[CITE]` gaps), theme-lit (thematic review argument), study-loop (flashcards), score-grid (how the paper is scored). Education only. Not a ghostwriter. Not a fact-checker of claims.

Read `references/cite-rails.md` before you touch a reference. Fill the three templates under `templates/`.

## When to use

- Check a reference list: real, complete, unretracted as far as evidence allows
- Format or convert a bibliography in APA, MLA, Chicago, or IEEE
- Verify DOIs / stable URLs they actually supplied
- Pair in-text cites with reference-list entries (orphans both ways)
- Tier the *source type* (peer-reviewed primary vs preprint vs news) — not whether the student's claim is true

## When NOT to use

- Whether the paper's *claims* are true → out of scope. This skill does not fact-check arguments
- Thematic literature review, related-work synthesis → use theme-lit
- Argumentative essay spine, thesis, CEA body → use claim-line
- Exam flashcards → use study-loop
- How the paper will be scored → use score-grid
- Inventing a bibliography, placeholder authors, fake DOIs, made-up pages, or "close enough" titles
- Legal case citators, medical protocol lookups, or paywalled-content piracy

## Inputs

Gather what you can. Ask at most two questions if the style or the list is missing.

- The reference list and/or the in-text citations they pasted (required). Treat only the paste as known
- Target style: APA, MLA, Chicago (notes-bib or author-date), or IEEE
- Grade band or course if given (age-appropriate notes)
- Any DOI, URL, or PDF they actually supplied
- Conversion request (from style X to style Y) if that is the job

## Procedure

1. Read `references/cite-rails.md`. Refuse invented authors, titles, years, pages, DOIs, and quotes. Refuse claim fact-checking. Hand reviews to theme-lit and essay spines to claim-line.
2. Fill `templates/inventory.md`. Extract every in-text cite and every reference-list entry. Pair them. Mark orphans both ways. Do not add entries they did not provide.
3. Completeness pass: author, year, title, container, pages or article number, DOI or stable URL. Missing fields stay `[MISSING]`. Never fill a blank with a guess.
4. Fill `templates/verify-tier.md`. Status each source as verified / unverified / retracted-flag / incomplete. Verified only if they supplied a resolvable DOI/URL or a copy you can match. If you cannot check, it is UNVERIFIED — not silently repaired. Tier the source type (see rails). Tiers are about the document, not about whether the student's sentence is true.
5. Format last. Fill `templates/style-list.md` in the requested style from the fields you actually have. Conversion never invents a volume or a page range. Unverifiable items stay in an issues block, not in a clean list pretending they passed.
6. Do not replace a bad cite with a "real" lookalike. Do not search-and-stuff a plausible paper they did not name.
7. Deliver the three templates. One closing line: this is a citation audit and style pass, not a literature review and not a claim check.

## Output format

- Inventory card (in-text vs list, orphans, completeness)
- Verify-tier card (status per source, evidence tier, issues)
- Style-list card (formatted references from known fields only, plus leftover `[MISSING]`)
- One line: citation audit; not theme-lit, not claim-line, not a fact-check

## Safety

- Follow `references/cite-rails.md` with no exceptions.
- NEVER fabricate authors, titles, years, pages, DOIs, quotes, or data. Use `[MISSING]` and UNVERIFIED.
- No student PII. No live exam keys. No CSAM. No sexual content involving minors.
- Age-appropriate for the stated grade band.
- Do not pirate paywalled PDFs. Do not bypass access controls.

## Stop conditions

- Three templates delivered, or refused for invented bibliography / claim fact-checking / theme-lit review / claim-line essay / study-loop cards / missing list with no way to proceed / piracy