# Claude Skills > Stop Slop - Skill: `doreastyles-afk/claude-skills` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add doreastyles-afk/claude-skills` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/doreastyles-afk/claude-skills/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: doreastyles-afk (https://skillmd.com/u/doreastyles-afk) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/doreastyles-afk/claude-skills --- # Stop Slop --- A skill for removing AI-generated writing patterns from prose. Teaches Claude and other language models to identify and eliminate predictable AI tells, replacing them with clear, authentic human voice. **Author:** Hardik Pandya **Repository:** https://github.com/hardikpandya/stop-slop **License:** MIT --- ## Core Philosophy Stop Slop targets three categories of problematic patterns: 1. **Problematic Phrases** - Throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, business jargon, excessive adverbs, vague declaratives, meta-commentary 2. **Structural Patterns** - Binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups, passive voice 3. **Sentence-Level Issues** - Wh- starters, em dashes, staccato fragmentation, inanimate subjects performing human actions --- ## Eight Core Rules for Editing ### 1. Eliminate Filler Language Remove throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, and all adverbs. **Examples of filler to cut:** - "Here's the thing:" - "The truth is," - "Full stop" - "Let that sink in" - All -ly adverbs: really, genuinely, literally, obviously ### 2. Avoid Formulaic Patterns Reject binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, and rhetorical setups. **Binary contrasts:** Instead of "It's not X, it's Y," state Y directly. **Negative listings:** Don't deny what something isn't before revealing what it is. **Dramatic fragmentation:** "Noun. That's it." reads as performative. **Rhetorical setups:** "What if we reframed this?" wastes words better spent on the actual point. ### 3. Employ Active Voice Every sentence requires a human agent performing an action. No passive constructions. **Passive:** "Mistakes were made" **Active:** "We made mistakes" ### 4. Demonstrate Specificity Replace vague statements with concrete details. Avoid lazy universal terms like "everyone," "always," "really." **Vague:** "People love this product" **Specific:** "Our top 5 clients renewed annually because of feature X" ### 5. Ground Readers in Scenes Use direct address over distant narration. Prioritize tangible details over abstract concepts. **Distant:** "Nobody designs this..." **Direct:** "You don't decide one day..." ### 6. Create Rhythmic Variety Alternate sentence lengths. Prefer two items over three. Eliminate em dashes. **Monotonous:** "Speed, quality, cost—pick two. That's it. That's the tradeoff." **Varied:** "Speed, quality, cost—pick two." ### 7. Respect Reader Intelligence Present facts plainly without softening language, endless justification, or excessive scaffolding. **Over-explained:** "It turns out that most teams struggle with alignment. The uncomfortable truth is that nobody wants to admit they're confused. And that's okay." **Direct:** "Teams struggle with alignment. Nobody admits confusion." ### 8. Remove Quotable Moments Rewrite sentences that read like extracted pull-quotes. Authentic voice doesn't perform. **Performative:** "What if I told you that the best teams don't optimize for productivity?" **Authentic:** "The best teams optimize for learning, not productivity." --- ## Quick Assessment Checklist When reviewing prose, check for: - [ ] **Adverbs** - Cut all -ly words and hedging language (really, just, genuinely, literally) - [ ] **Passive Voice** - Every main verb must have a named agent - [ ] **Inanimate Subjects** - No concepts performing human actions (e.g., "complaints became fixes") - [ ] **Wh- Openers** - "What makes this hard..." becomes "The constraint is..." - [ ] **Throat-Clearing** - Eliminate "Here's the thing," "The truth is," "In reality," - [ ] **Negative-Positive Contrasts** - "It's not X, it's Y" becomes just "Y" - [ ] **Sentence Length Monotony** - Vary from short to long to medium - [ ] **Paragraph Endings** - Don't end with setup for next paragraph - [ ] **Em-Dashes** - Remove most em-dashes; consolidate into single statements - [ ] **Vague Declarations** - No "The stakes are high" without specifics - [ ] **Narrative Distance** - Minimize telling over showing - [ ] **Meta-Commentary** - Cut "Plot twist," "In this section," self-referential asides --- ## Five-Dimension Evaluation Framework Rate prose 1-10 on each dimension: ### Directness (1-10) Does the writing get to the point immediately, or does it circle around? ### Rhythm (1-10) Do sentence lengths vary? Does it flow naturally, or feel monotonous? ### Trust (1-10) Does it respect reader intelligence, or does it over-explain and soften? ### Authenticity (1-10) Does it sound human, or like an AI performing human voice? ### Density (1-10) Is every word necessary, or is there filler padding? **Scoring:** Add up all five scores. Below 35/50 warrants revision. 45+/50 is strong. --- ## Common Problem Patterns & Fixes ### Throat-Clearing + Binary Contrast **Before:** "Here's the thing: building products is hard. Not because the technology is complex. Because people are complex. Let that sink in." **After:** "Building products is hard. Technology is manageable. People aren't." ### Filler + Unnecessary Reassurance **Before:** "It turns out that most teams struggle with alignment. The uncomfortable truth is that nobody wants to admit they're confused. And that's okay." **After:** "Teams struggle with alignment. Nobody admits confusion." ### Business Jargon Stack **Before:** "In today's fast-paced landscape, we need to lean into discomfort and navigate uncertainty with clarity..." **After:** "Move faster. Your competition is." ### Dramatic Fragmentation **Before:** "Speed. Quality. Cost. You can only pick two. That's it. That's the tradeoff." **After:** "Speed, quality, cost—pick two." ### Rhetorical Setup **Before:** "What if I told you that the best teams don't optimize for productivity? Here's what I mean..." **After:** "The best teams optimize for learning, not productivity." --- ## Phrases to Remove See `references/phrases.md` for comprehensive lists across these categories: - Throat-Clearing Openers - Emphasis Crutches - Business Jargon - Adverbs (all -ly words) - Meta-Commentary - Performative Emphasis - Telling vs. Showing - Vague Declaratives --- ## Structural Patterns to Avoid See `references/structures.md` for detailed guidance on: - Binary Contrasts - Negative Listing - Dramatic Fragmentation - Rhetorical Setups - False Agency - Narrator-from-a-Distance - Passive Voice - Weak Sentence Starters - Rhythm Patterns - Lazy Word Choices --- ## How to Use This Skill **In Claude Code:** Add this folder as a skill, then reference these rules when editing or reviewing prose. **In Claude Projects:** Upload SKILL.md and references to your knowledge base. **In Custom Instructions:** Copy the eight core rules into your system prompt. **Via API:** Include this SKILL.md in system prompts for text processing tasks. ### Typical Workflow 1. Write or receive prose 2. Review against the Quick Assessment Checklist 3. Score across the five dimensions 4. Identify problem patterns using the structures list 5. Rewrite to eliminate filler and strengthen voice 6. Aim for 40+/50 on the evaluation framework --- ## License MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute. --- ## Resources - **Repository:** https://github.com/hardikpandya/stop-slop - **Article:** "Stop Slop: A Claude Skill for Stripping Robotic AI Writing Patterns" by Artem Daniliants - **Related Skills:** anti-slop-skill (for code), deslop (scientific writing)