# Society in Silico Writing Style

> Auto-activates when writing or editing prose in the manuscript/ directory. Applies Max Ghenis's direct, active voice, data-driven writing style.

- Skill: `majiayu000/society-in-silico-writing-style` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add majiayu000/society-in-silico-writing-style`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/society-in-silico-writing-style/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/society-in-silico-writing-style

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# Writing Style for Society in Silico

This skill activates when working on manuscript content. Apply these principles automatically.

## The Voice

**Direct**: State conclusions first, then support them.
- Not: "It's worth considering that perhaps..."
- Yes: "The model shows X. Here's why."

**Active**: Subject-verb-object.
- Not: "The reform was estimated by CBO to reduce..."
- Yes: "CBO estimated the reform would reduce..."

**Neutral**: Present tradeoffs, not advocacy.
- Not: "This excellent policy would help millions"
- Yes: "This policy would increase benefits for 3.2 million households while increasing federal costs by $40 billion"

**Quantified**: Numbers over adjectives.
- Not: "significantly increased"
- Yes: "increased 47%"

## Quick Reference

### Always Avoid
- "It should be noted that..."
- "Interestingly..."
- "It is important to..."
- "One might argue..."
- Passive voice (unless strategic)
- Adverbs ending in -ly
- "Very", "really", "quite", "somewhat"

### Prefer
- Short sentences
- Concrete nouns
- Active verbs
- Specific numbers
- Direct statements

### Acceptable (This is a Book, Not a Blog)
- Narrative storytelling
- Personal anecdotes when relevant
- Building arguments across paragraphs
- Metaphors that illuminate concepts
- Occasional longer sentences for rhythm

## When Writing New Content

1. Lead with the point
2. Support with evidence
3. Acknowledge limitations honestly
4. Move forward

## When Editing

Ask of each sentence:
- Is this active voice?
- Can I cut words without losing meaning?
- Is there a vague word I can replace with a number?
- Does this advance the argument?

## Examples

### Before
"It is perhaps worth noting that microsimulation has been increasingly used by various governmental bodies over the past several decades, with some degree of success in predicting policy outcomes."

### After
"Governments have used microsimulation since the 1960s. CBO's budget projections average 1.2% error."

### Before
"The really impressive thing about PolicyEngine is that it has managed to quite successfully democratize access to policy analysis tools."

### After
"PolicyEngine gives anyone access to the same tax-benefit calculations that CBO uses. 50,000 people ran simulations last year."