writing-guidelines

writing-guidelines

Write for a reader who is busy and did not see your work. Readability beats cleverness; clarity beats completeness.

Rules

• Lead with the outcome. The first sentence answers what happened or what the thing is - the line the reader would ask for if they said "just the TLDR". Supporting detail comes after.
• Cut filler. Delete "just", "simply", "basically", "in order to", "it is important to note". If a sentence changes nothing when removed, remove it.
• Concrete over abstract. Name the file, the number, the command. "Faster" is weaker than "cuts the build from 40s to 9s".
• Active voice, one idea per sentence. Short sentences that each carry one point read faster than long ones that carry three.
• Consistent terms. Use the project's own vocabulary, the same word for the same thing every time. Tie names to the shared-language CONTEXT.md when one exists (see domain-modeling).
• Readable, not clipped. Being short and being clear are different. Achieve short by dropping what the reader does not need, not by compressing prose into fragments, arrow chains (A -> B -> fails), or invented abbreviations.

Error messages and UI copy

• Say what happened and what to do next: Config not found at ./app.config.ts. Create it or pass --config <path>. beats Error: config missing.
• No dead ends. Every failure names a next step.
• Match the product's voice; drop exclamation marks and filler enthusiasm.

AI-slop tells to strip

• Em-dashes and en-dashes - use a spaced hyphen or a full stop. This is the most reliable machine-written tell.
• Hollow openers: "In today's fast-paced world", "It's worth noting that".
• Hedging stacks: "might potentially perhaps".
• Binary flourishes: "Not X. But Y." as a rhetorical beat.
• Over-structured lists where a sentence would do.

Output

When editing, show the tightened version and, on request, a one-line note per change. Do not pad the edit with praise for the original.