WritingClarityEditingAI Agent Skill
writing-clearly-and-concisely
Applies classic principles from The Elements of Style to cut wordy sentences, remove filler, and write with the clarity of a real person.
Install Options
Install into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or Antigravity with:
$ npx skills add obra/the-elements-of-style@writing-clearly-and-concisely
Real Work Situation Solved
Your draft sounds like AI wrote it - make it sound like you
“You reread your draft and it sounds flat and generic, like ChatGPT wrote it - where do you start fixing it?”
5-Step Action Framework
- 1Cut throat-clearing openers like "In today's world" or "It's undeniable that" - go straight to the point.
- 2Find and cut back on em-dashes and symmetrical "not just X but also Y" constructions - a telltale AI-writing pattern.
- 3Swap generic adjectives ("powerful", "comprehensive", "game-changing") for a number or a specific example.
- 4Read the draft out loud - rewrite any line you'd never actually say out loud, in the way you'd actually say it.
- 5Break long sentences into short ones with varied rhythm - AI prose tends to keep every sentence roughly the same length.
Before
"In today's digital landscape, leveraging AI not only optimizes workflows but also delivers transformative value for the business."
After
"AI cut our order-processing time from 2 days to 4 hours. That's why we're investing in it."
SKILL.md Source Instructions
SKILL.md • Read-only preview# Writing Clearly and Concisely Skill Omit needless words, prefer the active voice, and put the most important information in the strongest position of the sentence.