How do I install the Writing Clearly And Concisely skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add maragudk/writing-clearly-and-concisely in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Writing Clearly And Concisely safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Writing Clearly And Concisely?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Writing Clearly And Concisely free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under Public Domain.

Who published Writing Clearly And Concisely?

maragudk (@maragudk) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Writing Clearly And Concisely by maragudk

Name: Writing Clearly And Concisely
Author: maragudk

Writing Clearly And Concisely

Use when you write or revise a long-form document an audience will read—documentation, a README, a how-to or user guide, a spec, a design or decision doc, a blog post, a proposal, an announcement, or a standalone report or summary written for a person. Such writing should be clear, concrete, and tight, so draft it from the start by Strunk's Elements of Style (active voice; definite, specific, concrete words; omit needless words) instead of first-draft sprawl. Do NOT fire for short or code-adjacent text—commit messages, PR descriptions, release notes or changelogs, error messages, UI strings, code comments, config, version bumps, quick internal scratch notes, or the implementation diary. These exclusions win even when the text reaches an audience: a release note, changelog, or PR description is a working artifact, not a document drafted for readers.

maragudk Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Writing Clearly and Concisely

Overview

William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.

WARNING: elements-of-style.md consumes ~12,000 tokens. Read it only when writing or editing prose.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you write or revise a long-form document an audience will read:

Documentation, README files, how-to and user guides
Specs, design docs, decision docs
Blog posts, proposals, announcements
A standalone report or summary written for a person
Editing any of the above to improve clarity

If you're drafting a document an audience will read, use this skill.

When NOT to Use This Skill

Skip it for short or code-adjacent text—these aren't prose written for an audience:

Commit messages, PR descriptions, release notes or changelogs
Error messages, UI strings, code comments
Config, version bumps, code, tests
Quick internal scratch notes
The implementation diary—it's agent context memory, not a document for readers

These exclusions win even when the text reaches an audience. A release note, changelog, or PR description is a working artifact, not a document drafted for readers—don't fire just because someone will read it.

Limited Context Strategy

When context is tight:

Write your draft using judgment
Dispatch a subagent with your draft and elements-of-style.md
Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision

All 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

Section V: Words and Expressions Commonly Misused

Alphabetical reference for usage questions

Bottom Line

Drafting a document an audience will read? Read elements-of-style.md and apply the rules. Low on tokens? Dispatch a subagent to copyedit with the guide.

---name: writing-clearly-and-conciselydescription: Use when you write or revise a long-form document an audience will read—documentation, a README, a how-to or user guide, a spec, a design or decision doc, a blog post, a proposal, an announcement, or a standalone report or summary written for a person. Such writing should be clear, concrete, and tight, so draft it from the start by Strunk's Elements of Style (active voice; definite, specific, concrete words; omit needless words) instead of first-draft sprawl. Do NOT fire for short or code-adjacent text—commit messages, PR descriptions, release notes or changelogs, error messages, UI strings, code comments, config, version bumps, quick internal scratch notes, or the implementation diary. These exclusions win even when the text reaches an audience: a release note, changelog, or PR description is a working artifact, not a document drafted for readers.license: Public Domain---# Writing Clearly and Concisely## OverviewWilliam Strunk Jr.'s *The Elements of Style* (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.**WARNING:** `elements-of-style.md` consumes ~12,000 tokens. Read it only when writing or editing prose.## When to Use This SkillUse this skill when you write or revise a long-form document an audience will read:- Documentation, README files, how-to and user guides- Specs, design docs, decision docs- Blog posts, proposals, announcements- A standalone report or summary written for a person- Editing any of the above to improve clarity**If you're drafting a document an audience will read, use this skill.**## When NOT to Use This SkillSkip it for short or code-adjacent text—these aren't prose written for an audience:- Commit messages, PR descriptions, release notes or changelogs- Error messages, UI strings, code comments- Config, version bumps, code, tests- Quick internal scratch notes- The implementation diary—it's agent context memory, not a document for readersThese exclusions win even when the text reaches an audience. A release note, changelog, or PR description is a working artifact, not a document drafted for readers—don't fire just because someone will read it.## Limited Context StrategyWhen context is tight:1. Write your draft using judgment2. Dispatch a subagent with your draft and `elements-of-style.md`3. Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision## All Rules### Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)1. Form possessive singular by adding 's2. Use comma after each term in series except last3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas4. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause5. Don't join independent clauses by comma6. Don't break sentences in two7. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject### Elementary Principles of Composition8. One paragraph per topic9. Begin paragraph with topic sentence10. **Use active voice**11. **Put statements in positive form**12. **Use definite, specific, concrete language**13. **Omit needless words**14. Avoid succession of loose sentences15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form16. **Keep related words together**17. Keep to one tense in summaries18. **Place emphatic words at end of sentence**### Section V: Words and Expressions Commonly MisusedAlphabetical reference for usage questions## Bottom LineDrafting a document an audience will read? Read `elements-of-style.md` and apply the rules. Low on tokens? Dispatch a subagent to copyedit with the guide.

Frequently asked questions