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 content a human will read:
- Emails, messages, and any direct communication
- Documents, reports, summaries, proposals
- Documentation, README files, technical explanations
- Commit messages, pull request descriptions
- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments
- Any other prose meant for human eyes
If a human will read it, this skill applies — no exceptions.
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
- Em dashes: never use em dashes (— or --); restructure the sentence instead
- 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: Apply whenever writing content a human will read — emails, documents, reports, documentation, messages, UI copy, commit messages, explanations, or any other prose. Applies Strunk's timeless rules for clearer, stronger, more professional writing.4---56# Writing Clearly and Concisely78## Overview910Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (Strunk) and what not to do (AI patterns).1112## When to Use This Skill1314Use this skill whenever you write content a human will read:1516- Emails, messages, and any direct communication17- Documents, reports, summaries, proposals18- Documentation, README files, technical explanations19- Commit messages, pull request descriptions20- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments21- Any other prose meant for human eyes2223**If a human will read it, this skill applies — no exceptions.**2425## Limited Context Strategy2627When context is tight:28291. Write your draft using judgment302. Dispatch a subagent with your draft and the relevant section file313. Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision3233Loading a single section (~1,000-4,500 tokens) instead of everything saves significant context.3435## Elements of Style3637William Strunk Jr.'s _The Elements of Style_ (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.3839### Rules4041**Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)**:42431. Form possessive singular by adding 's442. Use comma after each term in series except last453. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas464. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause475. Don't join independent clauses by comma486. Don't break sentences in two497. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject5051**Elementary Principles of Composition**:52531. One paragraph per topic542. Begin paragraph with topic sentence553. **Use active voice**564. **Put statements in positive form**575. **Use definite, specific, concrete language**586. **Omit needless words**597. Avoid succession of loose sentences608. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form619. **Keep related words together**6210. Keep to one tense in summaries6311. **Place emphatic words at end of sentence**6465### Reference Files6667The rules above are summarized from Strunk's original text. For complete explanations with examples:6869| Section | File | ~Tokens |70| -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ------- |71| Grammar, punctuation, comma rules | `02-elementary-rules-of-usage.md` | 2,500 |72| Paragraph structure, active voice, concision | `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` | 4,500 |73| Headings, quotations, formatting | `04-a-few-matters-of-form.md` | 1,000 |74| Word choice, common errors | `05-words-and-expressions-commonly-misused.md` | 4,000 |7576**Most tasks need only `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md`** — it covers active voice, positive form, concrete77language, and omitting needless words.7879## AI Writing Patterns to Avoid8081LLMs regress to statistical means, producing generic, puffy prose. Avoid:8283- **Puffery:** pivotal, crucial, vital, testament, enduring legacy84- **Empty "-ing" phrases:** ensuring reliability, showcasing features, highlighting capabilities85- **Promotional adjectives:** groundbreaking, seamless, robust, cutting-edge86- **Overused AI vocabulary:** delve, leverage, multifaceted, foster, realm, tapestry87- **Em dashes:** never use em dashes (— or --); restructure the sentence instead88- **Formatting overuse:** excessive bullets, emoji decorations, bold on every other word8990Be specific, not grandiose. Say what it actually does.9192For comprehensive research on why these patterns occur, see `signs-of-ai-writing.md`. Wikipedia editors developed this93guide to detect AI-generated submissions — their patterns are well-documented and field-tested.9495## Bottom Line9697Writing for humans? Load the relevant section from `elements-of-style/` and apply the rules. For most tasks,98`03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` covers what matters most.
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