Comprehensive writing guidance for professional documents across legal, academic, executive, and business contexts. Use when drafting, editing, or revising any document where quality prose matters: briefs, memos, law review articles, reports, client letters, contracts, executive summaries, presentations. Provides style selection, cognitive fluency techniques, structure frameworks, concision patterns, and revision checklists. Invoke when users ask to write, edit, revise, or improve documents.
/plugin marketplace add parkerhancock/writing/plugin install writing@writing-marketplaceThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
references/authorities/INDEX.mdreferences/exemplars/INDEX.mdreferences/research/INDEX.mdstyles/academic.mdstyles/client-facing.mdstyles/executive.mdstyles/objective.mdstyles/persuasive.mdstyles/transactional.mdtechniques/ai-antipatterns.mdtechniques/cognitive-fluency.mdtechniques/compelling-writing.mdtechniques/concise-writing.mdtechniques/revision-checklist.mdtechniques/structure-frameworks.mdThis skill provides guidance on what makes writing effective across professional contexts. It covers principles, techniques, and forum-specific conventions.
These apply regardless of document type:
State conclusions before support. Readers shouldn't hunt for your argument.
| Buried | Direct |
|---|---|
| "After reviewing the evidence and considering the factors..." | "The contract is enforceable. Three factors support this conclusion..." |
Identify actors. Assign responsibility. Avoid abstraction.
| Passive/Abstract | Active/Concrete |
|---|---|
| "The order was vacated" | "The FTC vacated the order" |
| "A determination was made" | "The court determined" |
| "The regulatory framework imposes obligations" | "The Colorado AI Act requires deployers to conduct impact assessments" |
Don't cram. If you need a comma followed by "and," consider splitting.
Every word must earn its place. See techniques/concise-writing.md for patterns.
Academic writing is formal but accessible. Client letters are direct but professional. Briefs are precise but readable. Know your reader.
Use the same term for the same concept throughout. Variation for its own sake confuses readers and undermines the illusory truth effect.
Load the appropriate style based on what you're writing:
| Document Type | Style Guide |
|---|---|
| Law review article, scholarly publication | styles/academic.md |
| Brief, motion, advocacy document | styles/persuasive.md |
| Legal memo, analysis, neutral assessment | styles/objective.md |
| Client letter, advice, communication | styles/client-facing.md |
| Contract, deal document, agreement | styles/transactional.md |
| Executive report, deck, business document | styles/executive.md |
| Length | Comprehension |
|---|---|
| 8 words | ~100% |
| 14 words | ~90% |
| 20 words | Target average |
| 43+ words | Below 10% |
Vary length for rhythm. Don't let multiple consecutive sentences exceed 30 words.
Target 80-85% active voice. Reserve passive for:
Start sentences with known information; end with new information. This matches how the brain builds understanding.
| Violates | Follows |
|---|---|
| "Novel approaches are needed. The EU AI Act represents one." | "The EU AI Act represents a novel approach. This approach differs from U.S. regulation in three ways." |
Read aloud. If you stumble, readers will too.
These techniques apply across all styles:
| Technique | File | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Fluency | techniques/cognitive-fluency.md | Make prose easier to process (and more persuasive) |
| Concise Writing | techniques/concise-writing.md | Cut words without losing meaning |
| Compelling Writing | techniques/compelling-writing.md | Engage readers through narrative and structure |
| Structure Frameworks | techniques/structure-frameworks.md | Organize documents persuasively (Pyramid, IRAC, SCQA) |
| AI Antipatterns | techniques/ai-antipatterns.md | Avoid tells that signal AI-generated text |
| Revision Checklist | techniques/revision-checklist.md | Multi-pass editing process |
Before finalizing any document:
See techniques/revision-checklist.md for detailed checklist.
| Cut | Reason |
|---|---|
| "it is important to note that" | If important, readers will notice |
| "clearly" / "obviously" | If clear, don't announce it |
| "in order to" | "to" works |
| "the fact that" | Usually deletable |
| "basically" / "actually" / "very" | Filler |
| Weak (Noun) | Strong (Verb) |
|---|---|
| make a determination | determine |
| conduct an investigation | investigate |
| give consideration to | consider |
| reach a conclusion | conclude |
Search for "-tion," "-ment," "-ity" endings and convert to verbs.
See techniques/ai-antipatterns.md for full list.
For research backing and detailed guidance:
If you encounter bugs, unexpected behavior, or want to request new features, use the GitHub CLI:
# Report a bug
gh issue create --repo SanctionedCodeList/writing --title "Bug: [description]" --body "## Problem\n[Describe the issue]\n\n## Expected behavior\n[What should happen]\n\n## Steps to reproduce\n[How to trigger it]"
# Request a feature
gh issue create --repo SanctionedCodeList/writing --title "Feature: [description]" --body "## Use case\n[Why this is needed]\n\n## Proposed solution\n[How it might work]"
# Check existing issues first
gh issue list --repo SanctionedCodeList/writing
This helps improve the skill for all users.
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