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

Directives

Composition

• 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.

Style

• 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."

Mechanics

• 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.

AI Guardrails

• 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.

references/humanize-guardrails.md

Quick Intake

• 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

Workflow

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.

Core Principles

• 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.

Editing Checks (Apply in Order)

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.

Common Fixes

• 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."

Output Format

• Provide the revised text.
• If changes are substantial, add a brief, 3-5 bullet change summary.

References