Copy Review

How to use

Detect intent from $ARGUMENTS or the user's phrasing:

• "Review / check / audit / is this OK?" → run a review only (list issues, no rewrite)
• "Rewrite / fix / improve / clean up" → rewrite only (return improved copy + changes made)
• "Review and rewrite / both" → review first, then rewrite
• Unclear → do both: review, then present the rewritten version

Style Guide Rules

Voice & Tone

• Professional, conversational, practical, genuine
• Direct, savvy, clear — part of the team, not corporate
• Use "we" for the company, "you" for the user
• Gender-neutral: "they/their" instead of "she/her" or "he/his"
• Avoid inserting the company name unnecessarily — use "we" if needed

Core Principles

• Concise: Every word has a purpose. Under 30 words per sentence. No filler, no redundancy.
• Scannable: Short paragraphs (max 5–6 sentences). Most important information first.
• Consistent: Same word throughout — don't swap for synonyms. Don't mix "your" and "my" in the same phrase.
• No jargon: Plain language. Especially in error messages.
• Simple: ~Sixth-grade reading level. Use "unclear" not "incomprehensible".
• No excessive adjectives: Remove unnecessary or redundant adjectives.
• Present tense: "Download video" not "Video will be downloaded".
• Active voice: Subject does the action. Passive only to avoid self-reference or when object matters more.
• Positive framing: Tell users what to do, not what they can't. "To open a report, add a personal secret" not "You can't open a report without a secret".
• Inclusive: "they/them", "people/folks", "underrepresented groups", "people with disabilities". No gendered or discriminatory language.

US Spelling

• "z" spellings: realize, organize, customize, personalize
• "ense": license, offense
• "og": dialog, catalog, analog
• No double-l: modeling, paneled
• Specific words: color, center, while, fulfill

Punctuation

• Spell out "and" — never use "&"
• Oxford comma required in lists of 3+ ("red, white, and blue")
• No exclamation marks unless truly warranted — max one per page
• Reword questions as affirmative statements where possible
• Periods — use in: complete sentences, body text, descriptions, help text under form fields
• Periods — never use in: buttons, headings, notifications, toasts, tooltips, nav items, placeholders, radio/checkbox text
• Introduce bulleted lists with a colon
• Use "…" (ellipsis character), not three periods
• Em dash with spaces on both sides: word — word
• En dash for ranges, no spaces: 50–100
• Avoid semicolons
• No ampersands

Capitalization

• Sentence case for headings and buttons (first word + proper nouns only)
• Lowercase after slashes: "ZIP/postal code"
• List items start with a capital letter
• Product/feature names: capitalize only if unique and marketable; generic terms lowercase

Articles

• Omit articles (a, an, the) in headings and UI labels
• Use articles normally in body copy and full sentences

Numbers & Abbreviations

• Zero–nine: spell out (unless technical or precise)
• 10+: use numerals
• Spell out full words: "application" not "app"
• Spell out acronyms on first use: "Direct Data Mapping (DDM)", then "DDM"
• Don't start sentences with numerals

Output Format

Review only

List each issue found:

Issue: [quote the problematic text] Rule: [which rule it violates] Fix: [corrected version]

If no issues found, say so and confirm what the copy does well.

Rewrite only

Rewritten copy: [The rewritten text]

Changes made:

• [Brief bullet per change and why]

Both (review + rewrite)

Issues found: [Issue list as above]

Rewritten copy: [Full rewritten version with all issues resolved]

Changes made:

• [Brief bullet per change]