buaa-thesis-format-checking

BUAA Thesis Format Checking Skill

When to Use

Activate when user mentions: "检测论文"、"格式检查"、"thesis audit"、"论文规范"

Quick Start

python3 <skill_path>/scripts/thesis_audit_script.py --step1 <pdf_path> <output_dir>
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/thesis_audit_script.py --step2 <output_dir>/thesis_text_extracted.json --type cn
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/thesis_audit_script.py --step3-json <output_dir>/thesis_check_results.json <pdf_path> <output_dir>

Use the stepwise workflow for thesis review. It preserves intermediate artifacts and avoids cross-talk during parallel runs.

Workflow

1. Extract PDF text — thesis_audit_script.py --step1 <pdf_path>
2. Run 14 format checks — thesis_audit_script.py --step2 <text_path> --type cn
3. Generate JSON report — thesis_audit_script.py --step3-json <results_path> <pdf_path>
4. Verify report accuracy — Agent reviews JSON vs original PDF
5. Generate HTML report — thesis_audit_script.py --step3-html <results_path> <pdf_path> (after verification passed)

Detection Items

#	Item	Type
1	Blank pages	Warning
2	Placeholders (XXX, ****, TODO)	Warning
3	Chapter continuity (1-5)	Pass/Fail
4	Low content pages (<20% avg)	Warning
5	Incomplete markers ("to be continued")	Warning
6	Transition paragraphs	Warning
7	URLs in body (should be in footnotes)	Fail
8	arXiv without DOI	Warning
9	Abstract existence + word count	Warning
10	Text alignment (justify)	Warning
11	Font detection	Warning
12	Font size detection	Warning
13	Line spacing (1.5x for Chinese)	Warning
14	Page margins + page numbers	Warning

Known False Positives

• "攻读硕士学位期间取得的研究成果 - 无" is correct format, not a problem
• Table pages use left-align, which is correct
• Cover page has naturally low content
• Title, authorization, declaration, abstract divider, table of contents, symbol table, chapter-ending, and figure/table-heavy pages often have naturally low text density
• Font,字号,line spacing, margins, alignment, and figure spacing are candidate findings only; cite them as confirmed problems only after PDF or source-layout verification

Operational Notes

• Use a dedicated output directory for every PDF, especially in parallel review.
• If a PDF path with Chinese characters, spaces, or punctuation causes report generation failure, create an ASCII symlink/copy in the output directory and rerun against it.
• If HTML generation fails after checks have completed, keep thesis_text_extracted.json and thesis_check_results.json; downstream review may continue from these artifacts.
• --step2 writes thesis_check_results.json beside the thesis_text_extracted.json input, which makes parallel runs safer.
• Do not treat this tool as a final authority. Its findings are candidates for agent/manual verification.

Dependencies

Requires Python 3.10+ with pypdf and pymupdf.

python3 -m pip install pypdf pymupdf

References

• Format standard: references/Chapter-3-Writing-Standard-and-Printing-Styles.md