From writing-clearly-and-concisely
Applies Strunk's Elements of Style rules for clear, concise prose in documentation, commit messages, error messages, UI text, reports, and explanations.
npx claudepluginhub softaworks/agent-toolkit --plugin writing-clearly-and-conciselyThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (Strunk) and what not to do (AI patterns).
Applies Strunk's Elements of Style rules to edit documentation, commit messages, error messages, UI text, reports, and explanations for clarity and conciseness.
Enforces Strunk & White rules for clear, concise prose: omit needless words, use active voice, definite language, avoid lists and passives. Loaded by /writing for quick edits.
Strips AI writing patterns from prose drafts like emails, docs, reports, blog posts, commit messages using rules against negation-contrast, three-item lists, and repetition.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Write with clarity and force. This skill covers what to do (Strunk) and what not to do (AI patterns).
Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:
If you're writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.
When context is tight:
Loading a single section (~1,000-4,500 tokens) instead of everything saves significant context.
William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.
Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation):
Elementary Principles of Composition:
The rules above are summarized from Strunk's original text. For complete explanations with examples:
| Section | File | ~Tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar, punctuation, comma rules | 02-elementary-rules-of-usage.md | 2,500 |
| Paragraph structure, active voice, concision | 03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md | 4,500 |
| Headings, quotations, formatting | 04-a-few-matters-of-form.md | 1,000 |
| Word choice, common errors | 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.
LLMs regress to statistical means, producing generic, puffy prose. Avoid:
Be specific, not grandiose. Say what it actually does.
For comprehensive research on why these patterns occur, see signs-of-ai-writing.md. Wikipedia editors developed this guide to detect AI-generated submissions — their patterns are well-documented and field-tested.
Writing for humans? Load the relevant section from elements-of-style/ and apply the rules. For most tasks, 03-elementary-principles-of-composition.md covers what matters most.