Writing Clearly And Concisely
- 1.2k installs
- 449 repo stars
- Updated October 18, 2025
- obra/the-elements-of-style
writing-clearly-and-concisely is a Claude Code skill that applies William Strunk Jr. Elements of Style rules so developers can produce clearer, shorter technical and product prose in agent output.
About
writing-clearly-and-concisely is an obra/the-elements-of-style agent skill grounded in the 1918 public-domain Elements of Style text by William Strunk Jr. The skill encodes elementary rules of usage, punctuation, and concision so coding agents revise README sections, API docs, commit messages, and product copy before delivery. It favors active voice, direct sentences, and stripped filler over verbose AI phrasing. Developers reach for writing-clearly-and-concisely whenever agent drafts feel wordy, ambiguous, or grammatically sloppy in technical writing tasks.
- 18 elementary rules of usage drawn from the 1918 public-domain classic
- 11 core principles of composition that improve every spec, readme, and landing page
- Agent skill that systematically removes fluff, vagueness, and structural errors
- Hard-gate: run before publishing any user-facing or agent-generated text
Writing Clearly And Concisely by the numbers
- 1,204 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +86 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #226 of 1,901 Documentation skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
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| Installs | 1.2k |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 449 |
| Security audit | 3 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | October 18, 2025 |
| Repository | obra/the-elements-of-style ↗ |
How do you make AI technical writing clearer and shorter?
Instantly apply classic principles of clear, concise technical and product writing to any prose their agents produce.
Who is it for?
Developers and technical writers who want agent output edited against classic English usage and concision standards.
Skip if: Creative fiction, marketing campaigns requiring brand voice flexibility, or non-English localization workflows.
When should I use this skill?
The user asks to tighten, proofread, or rewrite technical docs, comments, or product text for clarity and brevity.
What you get
Edited prose with shorter sentences, correct punctuation, active voice, and reduced filler in docs and product text.
- edited prose
- concise documentation drafts
By the numbers
- Based on the 1918 public-domain Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
Files
Writing Clearly and Concisely
Overview
William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.
WARNING: elements-of-style.md consumes ~12,000 tokens. Read it only when writing or editing prose.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:
- Documentation, README files, technical explanations
- Commit messages, pull request descriptions
- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments
- Reports, summaries, or any explanation
- Editing to improve clarity
If you're writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.
Limited Context Strategy
When context is tight: 1. Write your draft using judgment 2. Dispatch a subagent with your draft and elements-of-style.md 3. Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision
All Rules
Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)
1. Form possessive singular by adding 's 2. Use comma after each term in series except last 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas 4. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause 5. Don't join independent clauses by comma 6. Don't break sentences in two 7. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject
Elementary Principles of Composition
8. One paragraph per topic 9. Begin paragraph with topic sentence 10. Use active voice 11. Put statements in positive form 12. Use definite, specific, concrete language 13. Omit needless words 14. Avoid succession of loose sentences 15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form 16. Keep related words together 17. Keep to one tense in summaries 18. Place emphatic words at end of sentence
Section V: Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
Alphabetical reference for usage questions
Bottom Line
Writing for humans? Read elements-of-style.md and apply the rules. Low on tokens? Dispatch a subagent to copyedit with the guide.
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Choose writing-clearly-and-concisely when you want classic English style enforcement on prose rather than code linting or API schema generation.
FAQ
What writing standard does writing-clearly-and-concisely use?
writing-clearly-and-concisely applies rules from William Strunk Jr.'s 1918 public-domain Elements of Style, covering usage, punctuation, and concision for technical and product prose.
Can writing-clearly-and-concisely edit README files?
Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is intended to revise agent-generated README sections, API documentation, and product copy so sentences are shorter, clearer, and grammatically correct.
Is Writing Clearly And Concisely safe to install?
skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.