clear-writing git:20260522.817c2c7A

Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/2c5ec62be6b40cb3.

---
name: clear-writing
description: >
  Use when writing prose humans will read—documentation, commit messages,
  error messages, explanations, reports, or UI text. Applies proven rules
  for clearer, stronger, more professional writing and eliminates common
  AI writing patterns.
triggers:
  - write documentation
  - improve writing
  - edit for clarity
  - clear writing
  - concise writing
  - commit message
  - PR description
---

# Clear Writing

## Overview

Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (proven composition rules) and what not to do (AI writing patterns to avoid).

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:

- Documentation, README files, technical explanations
- Commit messages, pull request descriptions
- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments
- Reports, summaries, or any explanation
- Editing to improve clarity

**If you are writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.**

## Limited Context Strategy

When context is tight:

1. Write your draft using judgment
2. Dispatch a subagent with your draft and the relevant section file
3. Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision

Loading a single section (~1,000-4,500 tokens) instead of everything saves significant context.

## Composition Rules

These rules teach you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.

### Rules

**Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)**:

1. Form possessive singular by adding 's
2. Use comma after each term in series except last
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
4. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause
5. Don't join independent clauses by comma
6. Don't break sentences in two
7. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject

**Elementary Principles of Composition**:

8. One paragraph per topic
9. Begin paragraph with topic sentence
10. **Use active voice**
11. **Put statements in positive form**
12. **Use definite, specific, concrete language**
13. **Omit needless words**
14. Avoid succession of loose sentences
15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
16. **Keep related words together**
17. Keep to one tense in summaries
18. **Place emphatic words at end of sentence**

### Reference Files

The rules above are summarized from the original text. For complete explanations with examples:

| Section | File | ~Tokens |
|---------|------|---------|
| Grammar, punctuation, comma rules | `references/elements-of-style/02-elementary-rules-of-usage.md` | 2,500 |
| Paragraph structure, active voice, concision | `references/elements-of-style/03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` | 4,500 |
| Headings, quotations, formatting | `references/elements-of-style/04-a-few-matters-of-form.md` | 1,000 |
| Word choice, common errors | `references/elements-of-style/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
- **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 `references/signs-of-ai-writing.md`. This guide catalogs patterns observed across thousands of instances of AI-generated text — well-documented and field-tested.

## Bottom Line

Writing for humans? Load the relevant section from `references/elements-of-style/` and apply the rules. For most tasks, `03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md` covers what matters most.