workspace-course-topics

Assignment: Prior Literature Summary

Due: Before next class
Time: ~20-30 minutes

Prerequisite: PaperPile Bibliography — you need your .bib file.

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Objective

Use AI to write a 1-2 paragraph summary of the prior literature that your ballpark paper builds on.

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Steps

1. Give your .bib to AI

Open Cursor and use this prompt:

“Here is the bibliography (.bib file) from [paper title by authors, year]. These are the papers it cites.

Please write a 1-2 paragraph summary of the prior literature that this paper builds on. What were the key ideas, models, or findings from these cited papers that made this paper possible?

[Paste your .bib file contents here]”

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2. Iterate if needed

If the summary is too generic, ask follow-ups:

• “Which of these papers were most foundational?”
• “What gap in the prior literature was this paper addressing?”

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3. Save your summary

Save as prior-literature.md (a working document for Assignment 050):

# Prior Literature Summary: [Paper Title]

## The papers my ballpark paper cites

[1-2 paragraph summary from AI]

## Key foundational papers

- [Paper 1]: [Why it matters]
- [Paper 2]: [Why it matters]
- [Paper 3]: [Why it matters]

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Deliverable

prior-literature.md with:

• 1-2 paragraph summary
• 3-5 key foundational papers

Keep this short. Background context, not a literature review.

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If You Get Stuck

Ask Cursor AI. If the “auto” model is inadequate, try Claude Opus 4.6 or ChatGPT 5.3. If both agree, the answer is probably correct.

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Next Step

Assignment 040: Subsequent Literature