Writing Clearly and Concisely
Overview
Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (Strunk) and what not to do (AI patterns).
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:
- Documentation, README files, technical explanations
- Commit messages, pull request descriptions
- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments
- Reports, summaries, or any explanation
- Editing to improve clarity
If you're writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.
Limited Context Strategy
When context is tight:
- Write your draft using judgment
- Dispatch a subagent with your draft and the relevant section file
- Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision
Loading a single section (~1,000-4,500 tokens) instead of everything saves significant context.
Elements of Style
William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.
Rules
Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation):
- Form possessive singular by adding 's
- Use comma after each term in series except last
- Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
- Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause
- Don't join independent clauses by comma
- Don't break sentences in two
- Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject
Elementary Principles of Composition:
- One paragraph per topic
- Begin paragraph with topic sentence
- Use active voice
- Put statements in positive form
- Use definite, specific, concrete language
- Omit needless words
- Avoid succession of loose sentences
- Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
- Keep related words together
- Keep to one tense in summaries
- Place emphatic words at end of sentence
Reference Files
The rules above are summarized from Strunk's original text. For complete explanations with examples:
| Section |
File |
~Tokens |
| Grammar, punctuation, comma rules |
02-elementary-rules-of-usage.md |
2,500 |
| Paragraph structure, active voice, concision |
03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md |
4,500 |
| Headings, quotations, formatting |
04-a-few-matters-of-form.md |
1,000 |
| Word choice, common errors |
05-words-and-expressions-commonly-misused.md |
4,000 |
Most tasks need only 03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md — it covers active voice, positive form, concrete language, and omitting needless words.
AI Writing Patterns to Avoid
LLMs regress to statistical means, producing generic, puffy prose. Avoid:
- Puffery: pivotal, crucial, vital, testament, enduring legacy
- Empty "-ing" phrases: ensuring reliability, showcasing features, highlighting capabilities
- Promotional adjectives: groundbreaking, seamless, robust, cutting-edge
- Overused AI vocabulary: delve, leverage, multifaceted, foster, realm, tapestry
- Formatting overuse: excessive bullets, emoji decorations, bold on every other word
Be specific, not grandiose. Say what it actually does.
For comprehensive research on why these patterns occur, see signs-of-ai-writing.md. Wikipedia editors developed this guide to detect AI-generated submissions — their patterns are well-documented and field-tested.
Bottom Line
Writing for humans? Load the relevant section from elements-of-style/ and apply the rules. For most tasks, 03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md covers what matters most.
1---2name: writing-clearly-and-concisely3description: Writing Clearly and Concisely4---5# Writing Clearly and Concisely67## Overview89Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (Strunk) and what not to do (AI patterns).1011## When to Use This Skill1213Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:1415- Documentation, README files, technical explanations16- Commit messages, pull request descriptions17- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments18- Reports, summaries, or any explanation19- Editing to improve clarity2021**If you're writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.**2223## Limited Context Strategy2425When context is tight:26271. Write your draft using judgment282. Dispatch a subagent with your draft and the relevant section file293. Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision3031Loading a single section (~1,000-4,500 tokens) instead of everything saves significant context.3233## Elements of Style3435William Strunk Jr.'s *The Elements of Style* (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.3637### Rules3839**Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)**:40411. Form possessive singular by adding 's422. Use comma after each term in series except last433. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas444. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause455. Don't join independent clauses by comma466. Don't break sentences in two477. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject4849**Elementary Principles of Composition**:50518. One paragraph per topic529. Begin paragraph with topic sentence5310. **Use active voice**5411. **Put statements in positive form**5512. **Use definite, specific, concrete language**5613. **Omit needless words**5714. Avoid succession of loose sentences5815. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form5916. **Keep related words together**6017. Keep to one tense in summaries6118. **Place emphatic words at end of sentence**6263### Reference Files6465The rules above are summarized from Strunk's original text. For complete explanations with examples:6667| Section | File | ~Tokens |68|---------|------|---------|69| Grammar, punctuation, comma rules | `02-elementary-rules-of-usage.md` | 2,500 |70| Paragraph structure, active voice, concision | `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` | 4,500 |71| Headings, quotations, formatting | `04-a-few-matters-of-form.md` | 1,000 |72| Word choice, common errors | `05-words-and-expressions-commonly-misused.md` | 4,000 |7374**Most tasks need only `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md`** — it covers active voice, positive form, concrete language, and omitting needless words.7576## AI Writing Patterns to Avoid7778LLMs regress to statistical means, producing generic, puffy prose. Avoid:7980- **Puffery:** pivotal, crucial, vital, testament, enduring legacy81- **Empty "-ing" phrases:** ensuring reliability, showcasing features, highlighting capabilities82- **Promotional adjectives:** groundbreaking, seamless, robust, cutting-edge83- **Overused AI vocabulary:** delve, leverage, multifaceted, foster, realm, tapestry84- **Formatting overuse:** excessive bullets, emoji decorations, bold on every other word8586Be specific, not grandiose. Say what it actually does.8788For comprehensive research on why these patterns occur, see `signs-of-ai-writing.md`. Wikipedia editors developed this guide to detect AI-generated submissions — their patterns are well-documented and field-tested.8990## Bottom Line9192Writing for humans? Load the relevant section from `elements-of-style/` and apply the rules. For most tasks, `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` covers what matters most.
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