How to use the Senior Thesis Defense Deck agent skill

What the skill makes the agent do

When installed, the agent builds a presentation as a single self-contained HTML file using a fixed warm-neutral template with classic Playfair serif type. It starts from an example deck, swaps in your thesis content (question, identification strategy, evidence, limitations) and keeps the template's visual style intact, adding or duplicating slides as needed.

The output is a web-viewable slide deck, not a PowerPoint file. You open it in a browser and present from there.

Install the skill from the ZIP or the Claude apps

Option 1: download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for your personal skills, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project.

Option 2: in the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.

• The skill package contains example.html, SKILL.md and template.json.
• The source notes that the upstream MIT licence text ships with the skill as LICENSE and should be kept with any copy of the template files.

How to trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need a special command. Describe the deck you want and mention the thesis, the audience and the purpose. The skill's trigger words include html deck, html slides, defense, coursework and academic.

The skill's example prompt asks the agent first for missing essentials: audience, decision target, source-of-truth materials, deadline and must-keep numbers. Answer those so the deck reflects your real thesis.

• Example request: "Make an HTML defense deck for my senior thesis on the employment effects of local minimum-wage increases, for my thesis committee. Use the identification strategy, main evidence and limitations."
• Example request: "Build a short calm HTML slide deck for my capstone defense. Keep the Playfair look and keep the numbers I paste below exactly as written."

What to give the agent and what it produces

The agent replaces placeholder text with your headlines, body copy, numbers, names, dates and section labels. It keeps the template's fonts, palette, layout grid and decorative elements, and it adjusts length by duplicating or dropping slides.

The skill is built around four content areas: the research question, the identification strategy, the evidence and the limitations. Give the agent your draft text or notes for each.

• Provide your thesis question and the main result in one or two sentences.
• Provide the identification strategy and the evidence tables or figures you want kept.
• Provide the limitations you want stated plainly.
• Ask for an outline or slide plan first if you want to review structure before the full build.

Check the output before you present

The agent only lays out the content you supply. It does not verify thesis data or statistics, so check every number against your own analysis before the defense.

The source describes a navigation runtime that should stay as shipped. Open the file in a browser to confirm it displays and advances correctly.

• Confirm each number matches your analysis.
• Confirm the limitations slide is included and worded as you intend.
• Open the HTML file in a browser and step through all slides.

Safety notes: scripts and network

The skill's listed requirements are nothing, it runs no scripts and it uses no network access, according to the assessment for this item. The skill is not designed to fetch data for you.

• Requires: nothing listed.
• Runs scripts: no.
• Uses network: no.
• Keep the LICENSE file with any copy of example.html, template.json or the assets runtime.

Tips for a calm, credible defense deck

The palette is intentionally low-energy. That suits a formal committee, but it is a poor fit for a deck meant to create urgency or excitement.

Because the template has low density, keep each slide to one claim. Put the contribution, the evidence and the limitation where a reviewer can find them quickly.

• Use the template's existing slide layouts rather than mixing in other designs.
• Keep the decorative elements; the source treats them as part of the template's identity.
• Present from a browser on the machine where you tested the file.