---
name: clear-writing
description: This skill should be used when writing any prose, copy, or content including landing pages, blog posts, documentation, UI copy, emails, social media, or any user-facing text. It enforces clean, direct writing by eliminating AI-typical patterns, cliches, and verbal filler identified by tropes.fyi and Wikipedia's Signs of AI Writing. Triggers on writing tasks, copywriting, editing, content creation, blog posts, landing page copy, prose, or when reviewing written content for quality.
---

# Clear Writing

## Purpose

Enforce clean, specific, human-sounding prose. Eliminate the patterns that make writing feel generated, promotional, or hollow. These rules apply to all writing: landing pages, blog posts, UI copy, documentation, emails, social posts.

## Core Principles

1. **Say the specific thing.** Replace every generic claim with a concrete fact, number, or detail. "A leader in the industry" says nothing. "Processes 2M images daily" says something.

2. **One idea, one expression.** State each point once, well. Do not restate it with a different metaphor, do not echo it in the conclusion, do not pad it across three paragraphs.

3. **Cut the scaffolding.** Remove every phrase that announces what the writing is about to do, just did, or thinks the reader should feel about it. The writing itself is the evidence.

4. **Flat emotional register.** Do not inflate significance. Do not manufacture drama. Do not assign legacy or broader meaning to ordinary things. Let the reader decide what matters.

5. **Plain verbs, plain structure.** Use "is" not "serves as." Use "shows" not "underscores." Prefer the short word. Prefer the direct sentence. Do not construct elaborate parallel structures to sound rhythmic.

6. **No em-dashes.** Rewrite the sentence instead. Use commas, parentheses, colons, or split into two sentences.

## Review Process

When writing or editing any text, run these passes in order. For the full catalog of patterns with examples and rewrites, read `references/tropes-dictionary.md`.

### Pass 1: Vocabulary

Search for and eliminate every word/phrase from the banned list. The most common offenders:

delve, tapestry, landscape, leverage, robust, streamline, harness, utilize, foster, pivotal, crucial, underscore, showcase, encompass, facilitate, bolster, spearhead, arguably, remarkably, fundamentally, nestled, vibrant, breathtaking, groundbreaking, renowned, profound, rich (figurative), diverse array, indelible mark, lasting legacy, rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, commitment to, quiet/quietly (as magic adverbs), deeply, certainly, intricate

Replace each with a plain, specific alternative or delete entirely.

### Pass 2: Sentence Structure

Flag and rewrite these patterns:

- Negative parallelism: "It's not X. It's Y." or "not because X, but because Y"
- Tricolon abuse: three-item lists used for rhetorical rhythm
- Rhetorical question reveal: "The result? Devastating."
- Anaphora: repeating the same opening word across consecutive sentences
- False range: "From innovation to implementation to cultural transformation"
- Gerund fragment litany: "Fixing bugs. Writing features. Shipping code."
- Short punchy fragment abuse: one/two-word sentences for dramatic effect
- "Serves as" / "stands as" copula avoidance: use "is"

### Pass 3: Tone

Remove or rewrite:

- Throat-clearing: "Here's the thing," / "Here's the kicker," / "Let's break this down" / "Let's unpack this" / "Let's dive in"
- False vulnerability: "And yes, I'm openly..." / "since we're being honest"
- Grandiose stakes inflation: "fundamentally reshape," / "define the next era," / "something entirely new"
- Vague attributions: "Experts argue," / "Industry reports suggest," / "Observers have cited"
- Invented concept labels: "the supervision paradox" / "the acceleration trap"
- Think-of-it-as metaphors: "Think of it like a highway for data"
- Imagine-a-world openers: "Imagine a world where every tool you use..."
- Truth-is-simple claims: "The reality is simpler" / "History is unambiguous"
- Worth-noting hedges: "It's worth noting," / "Importantly," / "Interestingly,"
- Editorializing: "it's important to note/remember/consider" / "no discussion would be complete without"

### Pass 4: Significance Inflation

Cut any sentence that:

- Claims something "plays a vital/significant/crucial role"
- Says something "stands as / serves as a testament/reminder"
- Attaches "-ing" analysis: "highlighting its importance," "ensuring continued growth," "reflecting broader trends," "contributing to the," "fostering a sense of"
- Describes cultural heritage, legacy, or broader significance without a specific source
- Uses promotional travel-guide language: "must-visit," "stunning," "captivating," "boasts a"
- Asserts notability by listing media outlets or claiming "active social media presence"

### Pass 5: Paragraph and Composition

- No signposted conclusions: "In conclusion," / "To sum up," / "As we've seen"
- No fractal summaries: do not restate every point at the end of a section
- No listicle-in-a-trench-coat: "The first wall is... The second wall is..."
- No one-point dilution: the same idea restated eight ways across 4000 words
- No dead metaphor repetition: using the same metaphor (ecosystem, walls, primitives) throughout
- No historical analogy stacking: rapid-fire company/era comparisons
- No content duplication: same paragraph reworded in a different section

### Pass 6: Formatting

- No em-dashes. Rewrite the sentence.
- No bold-first bullet lists unless it is genuinely a definition list or glossary
- No unicode arrows or decorative characters in prose
- No emoji in professional writing
- No overuse of conjunctive phrases: moreover, furthermore, in addition, on the other hand (use sparingly, not as paragraph openers)