Use active voice. Every sentence needs a human subject doing something. No passive constructions. No inanimate objects performing human actions ("the complaint becomes a fix").
Be specific. No vague declaratives ("The reasons are structural"). Name the specific thing. No lazy extremes ("every," "always," "never") doing vague work.
Put the reader in the room. No narrator-from-a-distance voice. "You" beats "People." Specifics beat abstractions.
Vary rhythm. Mix sentence lengths. Two items beat three. End paragraphs differently. No em dashes.
Trust readers. State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding.
Cut quotables. If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it.
Quick Checks
Before delivering prose:
Any adverbs? Kill them.
Any passive voice? Find the actor, make them the subject.
Inanimate thing doing a human verb ("the decision emerges")? Name the person.
Sentence starts with a Wh- word? Restructure it.
Any "here's what/this/that" throat-clearing? Cut to the point.
Any "not X, it's Y" contrasts? State Y directly.
Three consecutive sentences match length? Break one.
Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it.
Em-dash anywhere? Remove it.
Vague declarative ("The implications are significant")? Name the specific implication.
Narrator-from-a-distance ("Nobody designed this")? Put the reader in the scene.
Meta-joiners ("The rest of this essay...")? Delete. Let the essay move.
