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good-prose

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Original

English
🇨🇳

Translation

Chinese

Good Prose: Write and Edit Professional, Clear, Human-Sounding Text

优质散文：撰写与编辑专业、清晰、贴近人类表达的文本

Use this skill to draft or revise prose that can stand in professional correspondence, public blogs, newspaper opinion pieces, or longform emails with friends or family. Aim for clarity, specificity, and a measured tone without slang or hype.
使用本技能可撰写或修改适用于专业通信、公开博客、报纸评论文章，或是给亲友的长篇电子邮件的散文内容。 目标是实现表达清晰、具体，语气克制，避免俚语和夸张表述。

Directives

指导原则

Use these as the core craft rules. Apply them before any optional style tweaks.
以下为核心写作准则，在进行任何可选风格调整前需先遵循这些原则。

Composition

写作结构

  • Make the point early: Lead with the main claim or request.
  • Organize by paragraph: One paragraph = one idea; open with a clear topic sentence.
  • Prefer the active voice: Use passive only when the actor is unknown or irrelevant.
  • Use concrete verbs: Replace nominalizations with verbs.
  • Keep sentences lean: Remove dead weight, redundant phrasing, and filler.
  • Emphasize by position: Put the most important words at the end of the sentence.
  • Maintain parallel structure: Keep lists and paired clauses grammatically aligned.
  • Avoid dangling modifiers: Introductory phrases must attach to the subject.
  • Keep related words together: Avoid long interruptions between subject and verb.
  • 尽早点明核心: 开篇即提出主要观点或请求。
  • 按段落组织内容: 一个段落仅表达一个观点；段首使用清晰的主题句。
  • 优先使用主动语态: 仅在行为主体未知或无关紧要时使用被动语态。
  • 使用具体动词: 用动词替代名词化表达。
  • 精简句子: 删除冗余表述、重复内容和填充性语句。
  • 通过位置强调重点: 将最重要的内容放在句末。
  • 保持平行结构: 列表和成对从句需符合语法一致性。
  • 避免悬垂修饰语: 开头短语必须与主语相关。
  • 相关词汇放在一起: 避免主语和动词之间插入过长的中断内容。

Style

风格

  • Prefer plain words: Use familiar words over ornate synonyms.
  • Avoid threadbare openings: Skip "One of the most..." and similar cliches.
  • Be specific: Replace vague adjectives with facts, numbers, or examples.
  • Use "is/are/has" when accurate: Avoid "serves as," "stands as," "boasts."
  • Reduce intensifiers: Cut "very," "highly," "extremely," unless essential.
  • Avoid euphemism and padding: Say what happened, not what it "represents."
  • 优先使用平实词汇: 选择常用词汇而非华丽的同义词。
  • 避免陈词滥调的开头: 不要使用“最……之一”这类俗套表述。
  • 表述具体: 用事实、数据或例子替代模糊的形容词。
  • 准确使用“is/are/has”: 避免使用“serves as”“stands as”“boasts”这类表述。
  • 减少强化词: 除非必要，删除“very”“highly”“extremely”这类词汇。
  • 避免委婉语和冗余: 直接说明事实，而非描述其“代表”的含义。

Mechanics

语法规范

  • Comma use: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
  • Don't splice clauses: Use a semicolon or period instead of a comma.
  • No sentence fragments: Fragment only for deliberate emphasis.
  • Place commas in series: Use the Oxford comma when listing three or more items.
  • Apostrophes: Form possessive singular with 's, including names ending in s.
  • 逗号使用: 在连接两个独立分句的并列连词前加逗号。
  • 不要拼接分句: 使用分号或句号替代逗号连接分句。
  • 避免句子碎片: 仅在刻意强调时使用碎片句。
  • 列表中的逗号: 列举三个或以上内容时使用牛津逗号。
  • 所有格 apostrophe: 单数名词的所有格加's，包括以s结尾的名字。

AI Guardrails

AI 约束规则

  • Remove significance inflation, promotional tone, and vague attribution.
  • Replace "highlighting/underscoring/showcasing" with direct statements.
  • Avoid negative parallelism and forced rule-of-three lists.
  • Remove chatbot fillers ("Hope this helps," "Great question," etc.).
  • End with concrete outcomes or next steps, not generic optimism.
LLM's have characteristic writing style that should be avoided. Refer to 
references/humanize-guardrails.md
for LLM failure patterns and rewrite guardrails.
  • 去除夸大表述、宣传语气和模糊的归因。
  • 用直接陈述替代“highlighting/underscoring/showcasing”这类表述。
  • 避免负面平行结构和刻意的三段式列表。
  • 移除聊天机器人式的填充语（如“希望这对你有帮助”“好问题”等）。
  • 以具体结果或下一步行动结尾，而非泛泛的乐观表述。
大语言模型（LLM）有其特有的写作风格，需尽量避免。 如需了解LLM的常见问题及改写规则，请参考
references/humanize-guardrails.md
。

Quick Intake

快速信息收集

Ask only if missing:
  • Purpose (inform, persuade, explain, request, reflect)
  • Audience and relationship
  • Medium and length (email, blog post, op-ed, memo, etc.)
  • Tone constraints (formal, friendly, firm, neutral)
  • Any must-keep facts or phrasing
If given a draft, do not ask questions unless the intent is unclear.
仅在缺失以下信息时询问：
  • 写作目的（告知、说服、解释、请求、反思）
  • 受众及关系
  • 媒介与篇幅（电子邮件、博客文章、专栏评论、备忘录等）
  • 语气要求（正式、友好、坚定、中立）
  • 必须保留的事实或表述
若已提供草稿，除非意图不明确，否则无需提问。

Workflow

工作流程

  1. Find the spine: Identify the central claim, request, or takeaway.
  2. Shape the structure: Lead with context and stakes, then evidence, then implications or next steps.
  3. Tighten sentence craft: Prefer concrete verbs, specific nouns, and short phrases.
  4. Adjust voice: Keep it professional and human; remove hype, filler, and vague claims. If AI artifacts appear, consult 
    skills/good-prose/references/humanize-guardrails.md
    .
  5. Polish mechanics: Fix grammar, punctuation, and consistency.
  1. 提炼核心: 确定中心论点、请求或关键要点。
  2. 构建结构: 先交代背景和重要性，再提供证据，最后说明影响或下一步行动。
  3. 精简句子: 优先使用具体动词、特定名词和短句。
  4. 调整语气: 保持专业且贴近人类的表达；去除夸张、填充内容和模糊表述。 若出现AI生成痕迹，请参考
    skills/good-prose/references/humanize-guardrails.md
    。
  5. 打磨细节: 修正语法、标点和格式一致性。

Core Principles

核心原则

  • Clarity first: Put the point early. Move background below it.
  • Specific > abstract: Replace "important" or "significant" with facts or examples.
  • Use strong verbs: Reduce nominalizations and empty phrasing.
  • Prefer simple syntax: Avoid stacked clauses and overlong sentences.
  • Earn emphasis: Show importance with evidence, not adjectives.
  • Keep rhythm: Mix sentence lengths; let short sentences land.
  • Maintain tone discipline: No slang, no hype, no boilerplate cheerleading.
  • 清晰优先: 尽早点明核心观点，背景内容后置。
  • 具体优于抽象: 用事实或例子替代“重要的”“有意义的”这类词汇。
  • 使用有力动词: 减少名词化表达和空洞表述。
  • 偏好简单句式: 避免堆叠从句和过长句子。
  • 合理强调: 用证据体现重要性，而非形容词。
  • 保持节奏: 混合使用不同长度的句子；让短句突出重点。
  • 严格控制语气: 避免俚语、夸张和刻板的套话。

Editing Checks (Apply in Order)

编辑检查（按顺序执行）

  1. Meaning: Are claims precise, supported, and non-contradictory?
  2. Structure: Does each paragraph have a point and support it?
  3. Brevity: Cut filler, hedging, and throat-clearing.
  4. Style: Replace puffed-up language with plain English.
  5. Mechanics: Fix grammar, punctuation, and formatting.
  1. 内容准确性: 论点是否精准、有依据且无矛盾？
  2. 结构合理性: 每个段落是否有明确观点并得到支撑？
  3. 简洁性: 删除填充内容、模糊表述和铺垫语。
  4. 风格适配性: 用平实英语替换浮夸的语言。
  5. 语法规范: 修正语法、标点和格式问题。

Common Fixes

常见问题修正

  • Vague openings: Replace generic framing with the specific purpose.
  • Abstract nouns: Swap "implementation of improvements" for "we improved X."
  • Weasel words: Replace "experts say" with named sources or remove.
  • Empty intensifiers: Remove "very," "extremely," "highly," unless essential.
  • Over-polite filler: Remove "I hope this finds you well" unless expected.
  • AI-ish phrasing: Avoid "pivotal," "tapestry," "underscoring," "delve."
  • 模糊开头: 用具体目的替代通用框架。
  • 抽象名词: 将“implementation of improvements”替换为“我们改进了X”。
  • 含糊表述: 将“专家表示”替换为具体来源或直接删除。
  • 空洞强化词: 除非必要，删除“very”“extremely”“highly”这类词汇。
  • 过度礼貌的填充语: 除非必要，删除“希望你一切安好”这类表述。
  • AI 式表述: 避免使用“pivotal”“tapestry”“underscoring”“delve”这类词汇。

Output Format

输出格式

  • Provide the revised text.
  • If changes are substantial, add a brief, 3-5 bullet change summary.
  • 提供修改后的文本。
  • 若改动较大，添加3-5条简短的修改总结要点。

References

参考资料

Use these references for deeper guidance when needed:
如需更深入的指导，可参考以下资料：