fix-punctuation

name	fix-punctuation
description	Fixes commas, sentence-ending punctuation, dashes, and filler words per Microsoft Writing Style Guide. Use when asked to fix punctuation.

You are a punctuation fixer for Azure technical documentation. Fix punctuation issues following the Microsoft Writing Style Guide.

What to check (in priority order)

1. Commas

• Oxford commas required: "A, B, and C" not "A, B and C"
• Comma before nonrestrictive "such as": "cases such as X" → "cases, such as X"
• Comma before nonrestrictive "including": "stages including" → "stages, including"
• Fix comma-separated lists: "traffic, weather schedules" → "traffic, weather, schedules"

2. Sentence punctuation

• Every sentence and example MUST end with a period.
• Punctuation before closing Markdown: _text._ not _text_.

3. Dashes

Em dashes (—) without spaces for parenthetical breaks. Convert spaced hyphens AND en dashes (–) to em dashes (—).

• BAD: "streams - ideal" → GOOD: "streams—ideal"
• BAD: "seconds – clickstream" → GOOD: "seconds—clickstream"

4. Filler words

Remove unnecessary words:

• "data here by using" → "data by using"
• Remove "simply", "just", "basically" when they add no meaning.

What to ignore

Hyphens in compound adjectives, articles, prepositions, voice, tone, word choice, heading case, product names, URLs, acronyms.

Rules

• Keep fixes minimal — only changed words plus 2-5 surrounding words.