This paper presents components of an AI-assisted academic writing system focused on citation recommendation and introduction generation. The authors argue that scientific writing is a crucial but challenging skill, particularly for non-native English speakers and students. They explore how AI can augment the writing process by providing relevant citation suggestions based on document context and by automatically generating structured introductions that contextualise research within existing literature. The paper includes quantitative evaluations of their system's components and qualitative research into how researchers currently incorporate citations into their workflows, revealing a demand for precise and effective AI writing assistance.