Plan a research paper with milestones up to the due date
A backward-planned schedule from topic to final draft, with small weekly milestones that fit your other classes.
The prompt
Help me plan my research paper so I'm not writing it all the night before.
Assignment and requirements: [TOPIC OR PROMPT, LENGTH, NUMBER OF SOURCES, CITATION STYLE]
Due date (and any checkpoint dates set by my teacher): [DATES]
Today's date: [DATE]
Where I am now: [no topic yet / have a topic / have sources / have a draft]
Time I realistically have each week: [e.g. "about 4 hours, mostly weekends"]
Other big deadlines in this period: [EXAMS, OTHER PAPERS, WORK SHIFTS]
Plan backward from the due date through these stages: choose and narrow topic, find sources, read and take notes, working thesis, outline, first draft, revision, citations and formatting, final proofread.
Rules:
- Break each stage into tasks of 30-90 minutes.
- Leave a buffer of at least 2 days before the deadline.
- Avoid stacking big tasks on days I've said are busy.
- Flag early if the timeline is too tight and suggest what to ask my teacher.
Return:
1. A table: Date or week | Task | Time needed | Done when... (a clear finish line).
2. The 3 dates I must not miss.
3. A short what-to-do-if-I-fall-behind plan.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Productivity & Planning prompts
What to fill in
- TOPIC OR PROMPT, LENGTH, NUMBER OF SOURCES, CITATION STYLE
- DATES
- DATE
- no topic yet / have a topic / have sources / have a draft
- e.g. "about 4 hours, mostly weekends"
- EXAMS, OTHER PAPERS, WORK SHIFTS
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
Related prompts
- Plan revision when I have several finals close togetherA day-by-day timetable across all your exams, balanced by weight and risk, with a triage rule if you fall behind.
- Write our wedding-day schedule and run sheetA minute-by-minute day-of schedule for the couple, a vendor run sheet, and a contact list so the day runs without you managing it.
- Turn my executive's voice notes and scribbles into tasks and draftsMessy dictation or handwritten notes converted into a clean task list, drafted emails, and questions to clarify.
- Write a research statement for an academic job applicationA compelling research statement showing my agenda, past contributions, future plans, and fit with the hiring department.