plainspoken-writing

Files (3)

• CITATIONS.md
• README.md
• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Plainspoken writing

Use this pass for prose. The leading word is **plainspoken**: specific facts,
direct syntax, proportionate emphasis, and evidence-based authority.

The warning signs below are diagnostic. Fix the underlying defect; retain a
flagged word when the context gives it precise work.

## Pass

### 1. Ground the content

For each factual or interpretive claim:

- Anchor every claim in known facts or supplied sources.
- Name the person, source, or group behind an opinion. Match the breadth of the
  attribution to the evidence; one critic is not "critics" or "observers."
- Separate a source's statement from your inference. Ground analysis in facts
  rather than declaring what a fact highlights, reflects, symbolizes, ensures,
  or contributes to.
- Describe the subject before assessing its importance. Include significance,
  influence, legacy, notability, and media attention only when concrete evidence
  makes them part of the subject.
- Replace generic claims about broader trends, debates, landscapes, cultural
  meaning, ecological importance, or ongoing efforts with the relevant fact.
- State uncertainty precisely. When information is missing, name the exact gap
  and omit speculation about privacy, scarcity, documentation, or likelihood.

**Done when:** every claim has a known basis, every opinion has an exact owner,
and no sentence turns missing evidence into a story.

### 2. Make the prose direct

- Prefer `is`, `are`, and `has` when they carry the same meaning as `serves as`,
  `stands as`, `marks`, `represents`, `boasts`, `features`, or `offers`.
- Prefer the ordinary precise verb: `wrote`, `used`, `moved`, `tried`, or `died`
  when a grander synonym adds no meaning.
- Reuse the right term. Stable terminology beats synonym rotation.
- Let the facts set the tone. Replace promotional, travel-guide, press-release,
  and ceremonial language with concrete description.
- Use contrast for a real contrast. Flatten reflexive patterns such as "not only
  X but also Y," "not X but Y," and "X rather than Y" when they merely dramatize
  the point.
- Use the number of examples or modifiers the content requires. Break a forced
  rule of three.
- Keep sentence openings and endings functional. Replace trailing `-ing` clauses
  that append unsupported importance or impact.
- Match the requested register and variety of English. Preserve the author's
  established voice where one exists; keep human texture natural rather than
  manufactured.

Scan for clusters of stock diction, then rewrite the thought rather than
thesaurus-swapping the token:

`Additionally`, `align with`, `bolstered`, `crucial`, `deep dive`, `delve`,
`emphasizing`, `enduring`, `enhance`, `fostering`, `garner`, `highlight`,
`interplay`, `intricate`, `key`, `landscape`, `meticulous`, `pivotal`, `robust`,
`showcase`, `tapestry`, `testament`, `underscore`, `valuable`, `vibrant`,
`groundbreaking`, `renowned`, `rich`, `profound`, `nestled`, `in the heart of`,
`commitment to`, and `diverse array`.

**Done when:** the shortest accurate construction wins, repeated terms remain
stable, and emphasis comes from facts rather than stock cadence or diction.

### 3. Give the content its natural shape

- Organize around the reader's questions instead of a generic article outline.
- Add a heading only when it helps navigation. Use sentence case, preserve
  heading levels, and give each section content of its own.
- Let the surrounding format supply the document title rather than repeating it
  as a first heading.
- Use paragraphs by default. Use lists for actual sets or sequences and tables
  for comparisons that become clearer in rows and columns.
- Use the target venue's markup and keep Markdown, raw formatting tokens, and
  unsupported syntax out of other output formats.
- Use bold sparingly for functional emphasis. Use emoji only when the requested
  medium calls for them.
- Use punctuation for syntax, not punch. Replace formulaic em dashes with a
  comma, colon, parentheses, or a new sentence as appropriate.
- Follow the venue's quote and apostrophe convention consistently. Curly quotes
  are not a defect by themselves.
- Keep decorative section dividers, empty parent headings, repetitive
  `**Label:** explanation` lists, and canned sections such as "Challenges and
  future prospects" or "Awards and recognition" only when the material genuinely
  requires them.
- End on the last substantive point. A generic summary, optimistic outlook,
  balanced "despite these challenges" paragraph, or claim about future relevance
  needs concrete content to earn a place.

**Done when:** every structural and formatting choice carries information or
improves navigation.

### 4. Remove chatbot residue

- Deliver the requested prose directly: greetings, praise, "of course," "here
  is," "I hope this helps," offers to do more, and operator instructions belong
  outside the reader-facing text.
- Let the text demonstrate neutrality, completeness, sourcing, compliance,
  clarity, or improvement rather than asserting those qualities.
- Replace knowledge-cutoff disclaimers and references to available search
  results with a precise limitation that matters to the reader, if one does.
- Resolve every template token, placeholder, dummy date, example URL, bracketed
  instruction, and drafting note before delivery.
- Keep headings and summaries proportional to the message. A short answer earns
  a miniature report structure only when the content needs it.

**Done when:** the output contains only reader-facing content and no trace of the
conversation, prompt, drafting scaffold, or self-certification.

### 5. Audit sources

When the prose uses citations, load
[`CITATIONS.md`](CITATIONS.md) and complete its source audit.

**Done when:** the citation audit's completion criterion in `CITATIONS.md` is
true.

### 6. Cross-check

From lucavb/skills, MIT.

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