Engineering figure table

Engineering Figure Table

Use this skill to make figures and tables serve the manuscript argument.

Core Stance

• Define visual responsibility before visual styling.
• A figure or table should carry a specific claim, setup fact, evidence axis, or reader action.
• Do not let captions claim what the visual does not show.
• Visuals can illustrate mechanisms, but they cannot prove hidden mechanisms without direct visual, tabular, or experimental evidence.
• Do not use tables as unstructured parameter dumps unless the table's job is setup compression.
• Keep category names, metric names, captions, and prose consistent.

Boundaries

• Use engineering-writing when the user needs section prose around the visual evidence.
• Use engineering-polishing for prose-only clarity or style work.
• Use engineering-response when visual changes are driven by reviewer or advisor comments.
• Use engineering-validation for final label/reference/build consistency before claiming submission readiness.

When to Open Extra Files

File	Open when
references/visual-contract.md	Planning figure/table responsibility or deciding which visuals are needed
references/figure-roles.md	Deciding what motivation, framework, workflow, gallery, or evidence figures should do
references/captions.md	Writing or auditing captions and table notes
references/tables.md	Designing setup, main results, ablation, or stress-test tables
references/panel-claim-map.md	Mapping every panel, row, or column to a manuscript claim
references/figure-source-data-consistency.md	Checking that plotted values, source data, captions, and prose agree
references/venue-figure-standards.md	Target venue family changes figure resolution, source data, or caption expectations
references/consistency.md	Checking category names, metrics, labels, caption style, and prose alignment
references/page-budget.md	Cutting visual space, caption length, or table detail without damaging evidence
references/examples.md	Needing concrete figure/table role examples and caption behavior
references/failure-modes.md	Handling captions or tables that claim more than the visual supports
../_shared/evidence-boundary.md	Visual claims may exceed visible or tabulated evidence
../_shared/claim-strength.md	Caption or table note verbs may overstate what is visible
../_shared/output-mode.md	The user asks for caption/table output only
../_shared/terminology-ledger.md	Category, metric, object, or method names change across visuals and prose

Workflow

1. State the paper claim the visual supports.
2. Assign one responsibility to each figure/table.
3. Map each panel, row, or column to a piece of evidence.
4. Check source-data and caption consistency when values, metrics, or panels are provided.
5. Check whether the caption states only visible or tabulated information.
6. Check consistency across prose, caption, labels, and notes.
7. Check whether any category/metric rename needs coordinated changes.
8. Remove or redesign a visual if it has no claim, setup fact, evidence axis, or reader action.
9. If editing LaTeX, preserve labels and references unless there is a direct reason to change them.

Default Output

Visual audit
| Item | Responsibility | Visible/tabulated evidence | Claim supported | Must not claim | Placement | Related prose action | Risk | Action |

Panel-claim map
| Panel/row/column | Claim served | Evidence shown | Source-data check | Caption boundary |

Caption/table revision
[English caption or table plan]

Consistency actions
- labels:
- category names:
- metric names:
- prose references: