This skill should be used when the user asks to "write an article", "draft a blog post", "edit prose", "review my writing", "check style", "improve clarity", or needs general writing guidance. Provides Strunk & White's Elements of Style for foundational grammar, usage, and composition principles.
Provides Strunk & White's Elements of Style for writing clear, concise prose. Use when drafting articles, editing for clarity, or reviewing grammar and usage.
/plugin marketplace add edwinhu/workflows/plugin install workflows@edwinhu-pluginsThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
references/elements-of-style.mdFoundational style guide for clear, concise prose based on Strunk & White's Elements of Style.
Invoke this skill for:
For specialized domains:
/writing-legal skill (Volokh)/writing-econ skill (McCloskey)Omit needless words.
Every word must earn its place. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.
| Rule | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Write in prose | Avoid bullet points and lists unless explicitly requested |
| Use active voice | "The committee approved the plan" not "The plan was approved" |
| Be concrete | Specific details over vague abstractions |
| Put statements in positive form | Say what something is, not what it isn't |
| Use definite language | Avoid hedging, qualifiers, and weasel words |
| Thought | Why It's Wrong | Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| "I'll add some qualifiers to be safe" | Weakens the writing | Make definite assertions |
| "Let me list these points" | Bullet points are lazy | Write in prose paragraphs |
| "I should sound more formal" | Formality often means wordiness | Write naturally, then edit |
| "This needs more emphasis" | Overemphasis dilutes meaning | Let strong words speak |
Apply these checks in order:
Sentence Level:
Paragraph Level:
Word Level:
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| utilize | use |
| in order to | to |
| due to the fact that | because |
| at this point in time | now |
| in the event that | if |
| prior to | before |
| subsequent to | after |
| with regard to | about |
| a large number of | many |
| is able to | can |
For comprehensive guidance, consult:
references/elements-of-style.md - Complete Strunk & White guide covering:
Load the full reference when:
After completing any writing task, invoke /ai-anti-patterns to check for AI writing indicators. This plugin includes PostToolUse hooks that automatically warn on common anti-patterns in Write/Edit output.
Weak original:
It is important to note that there are a variety of different factors that contribute to the overall success of the project in question.
Strong revision:
Several factors determine project success.
Weak original:
The report was written by the team and was subsequently reviewed by management prior to being distributed to stakeholders.
Strong revision:
The team wrote the report, management reviewed it, and stakeholders received it.
/ai-anti-patterns - Detect and revise AI writing patterns/writing-legal - Academic legal writing (Volokh)/writing-econ - Economics and finance writing (McCloskey)/docx - Word document creation, editing, tracked changes/pdf - PDF extraction, creation, form filling/pptx - Presentation creation and editing/xlsx - Spreadsheet creation and analysisThis skill should be used when the user asks to "create an agent", "add an agent", "write a subagent", "agent frontmatter", "when to use description", "agent examples", "agent tools", "agent colors", "autonomous agent", or needs guidance on agent structure, system prompts, triggering conditions, or agent development best practices for Claude Code plugins.
This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a slash command", "add a command", "write a custom command", "define command arguments", "use command frontmatter", "organize commands", "create command with file references", "interactive command", "use AskUserQuestion in command", or needs guidance on slash command structure, YAML frontmatter fields, dynamic arguments, bash execution in commands, user interaction patterns, or command development best practices for Claude Code.
This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a hook", "add a PreToolUse/PostToolUse/Stop hook", "validate tool use", "implement prompt-based hooks", "use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}", "set up event-driven automation", "block dangerous commands", or mentions hook events (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, SubagentStop, SessionStart, SessionEnd, UserPromptSubmit, PreCompact, Notification). Provides comprehensive guidance for creating and implementing Claude Code plugin hooks with focus on advanced prompt-based hooks API.