writing

name	writing
description	Prose quality rules — active voice, concision, formatting conventions, and editor checklist. Load when writing or editing any human-readable content: resource articles, notes, ADRs, RFCs, proposals, READMEs, or any document.

Prose quality authority for all human-readable content.

> Active voice. Cut filler. Be concrete. Short sentences. Tables/bullets over prose. Lead with outcome.

<language_style>

• Active voice. Specify who/what acts. Verbs over nouns: "compacts the history" NOT "performs history compaction". Passive only when actor irrelevant.
• No nominalizations. "Configure the server" NOT "make a configuration of the server." "Analyze the response" NOT "perform an analysis of the response."
• Imperative mood for instructions. "Click Submit" NOT "The user should click Submit."
• Cut filler. Delete: "basically", "essentially", "in order to", "it should be noted that", "comprehensive", "robust", "leverages". If sentence works without word, drop it.
• No marketing language. NEVER write "powerful", "seamless", "cutting-edge", "world-class", "innovative", "state-of-the-art". Describe what it does.
• No ceremonial phrasing. State the fact. NEVER "It is important to note that" or "This section provides an overview of."
• Be concrete. "Retries with exponential backoff" beats "sophisticated retry mechanism". "200+ C# projects" beats "a large number of projects".
• Short sentences. One idea per sentence. Target 15–20 words. >2 commas? Split.
• Front-load. Most important info first.
• Say it once. Link instead of repeating. </language_style>

- **Tables and bullets over prose.** Prose only when list would fragment meaning. - **Numbered lists for sequential steps only.** Bullets for everything else. - **Headings as labels.** Short noun phrases, NOT sentences. - **Lead with outcome.** State result/decision first, then context, then details. - **UI elements:** Bold buttons, menus, labels. Example: Click **Save**, go to **Settings > Profile**. - **Code and paths:** `inline code` for filenames, paths, variables, endpoints, method names, config keys, short commands. - **Code blocks:** Triple backticks with language identifier. Brief inline comments for non-obvious logic. - **Bold** key terms and decision outcomes on first use in section.

<self_review>

Style:

• Filler/marketing/useless adjectives? Delete.
• Nominalizations? Replace with verbs.
• Passive voice with known actor? Make active.
• All instructions in imperative?
• Sentences <20 words?

Structure:

• Steps numbered; non-sequential items bulleted?
• Tables for comparisons and structured data?
• Headings short noun phrases, not sentences?

</self_review>

<output_rules>Output in English. Apply rules to own output.</output_rules>