writing-quality

name

writing-quality

description

Raises the quality of all text output in the business plan suite making plans, proposals, pitches, and reports sound professional, original, non-AI, enjoyable to read, actionable, and convincing. Applies plain English principles (Hood), persuasive argument structure (Shiach), business writing style (Geffner), and narrative storytelling techniques (Rubie & Provost). Invoke whenever generating or reviewing business plan sections, executive summaries, founder narratives, proposals, or any document that must persuade a lender, investor, or client. Also invoke when the user asks to "improve the writing", "make it sound less AI", "make it more convincing", or "edit for clarity".

Writing Quality

Overview

Use this skill as the language-quality layer for the suite. It sharpens clarity, structure, persuasiveness, and narrative force across business-plan and proposal writing without changing the underlying commercial logic.

Use When

• Use when drafting, revising, or polishing business-plan prose.
• Use when the content is directionally correct but the writing is weak, bloated, or unconvincing.
• Use alongside section skills when language quality materially affects credibility.

Do Not Use When

• Do not use to invent missing evidence or strategy.
• Do not improve style in a way that softens necessary precision.
• Do not replace section-specific logic with generic polished wording.

Required Inputs

• Draft text to improve
• Audience and document context
• Any non-negotiable facts, figures, or terminology
• Adjacent sections where tone or phrasing must stay consistent

Workflow

1. Identify what the reader must understand and decide.
2. Tighten the prose around that purpose using the rules below.
3. Remove ambiguity, filler, and passive evasion.
4. Improve flow, emphasis, and narrative sequence without distorting meaning.
5. Reconcile language choices with the intended audience and document type.
6. For premium, investor-facing, sales-oriented, SEO, or client-facing deliverables, apply premium-commercial-writing before final polish.
7. Flag where the draft is weak because the underlying thinking is weak.

Quality Bar

• The writing is clearer, tighter, and more persuasive.
• Meaning stays intact while readability improves.
• The prose supports decision-making rather than sounding merely polished.
• Tone matches the document and audience.

Anti-Patterns

• Replacing precision with vague eloquence.
• Polishing unsupported claims instead of fixing them.
• Letting sentence craft overpower logic and structure.
• Applying one tone uniformly across all audiences.

Outputs

• Improved draft language with stronger clarity and persuasion
• Notes on structural or evidence issues the prose cannot solve
• A sharper language baseline for adjacent section work

Apply these principles to all business plan text. The goal: the reader forgets they are reading a document and simply finds themselves persuaded.

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The Four Quality Dimensions

Dimension	Source	Core principle
Plain and clear	Hood Words at Work	Write for the reader, not to impress. One idea per sentence.
Logically structured	Shiach How to Write Essays	Every argument: key sentence evidence conclusion.
Professionally styled	Geffner Business English	Active voice. Natural language. Concrete nouns. No stilted phrases.
Narratively compelling	Rubie & Provost How to Tell a Story	Give the reader a person, a problem, and a resolution.

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Plain English Rules (Hood)

1. Reversed triangle state the conclusion first, then the supporting detail. Never build up to the answer.
2. One idea per sentence if a sentence contains two ideas, split it.
3. Two-line rule if a sentence is longer than two printed lines, break it.
4. Active voice "The business generates UGX 24M/month" not "Revenue of UGX 24M/month is generated."
5. You and we address the reader directly. "You will see from the projections..." not "It can be observed..."
6. Jargon discipline use technical terms only when the reader knows them. Define on first use.
7. One idea per paragraph open with the main point, support it, close it. Max 34 sentences.
8. Positive framing "Repayment begins in month 4" not "Repayment will not start before month 4."
9. Concrete over abstract "The mill processes 800kg per hour" not "The mill has significant capacity."
10. Cut the preamble delete the first sentence of any paragraph that merely announces what follows.

Avoid these phrases (replace with plain alternatives):

Stilted phrase	Plain replacement
Please find enclosed herewith	I enclose / Please find enclosed
Pursuant to our earlier discussion	Following our discussion
In the event that	If
It is recommended that	We recommend
At this point in time	Now
In order to	To
Due to the fact that	Because
Utilise	Use
Commence	Start / Begin
Prior to	Before

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Argument Structure (Shiach)

Every paragraph in a business plan should follow this formula:

1. Key sentence     state the point directly (topic sentence)
2. Development      24 sentences of evidence, examples, or data
3. Link             one sentence drawing the conclusion or bridging to the next point

Introduction structure (executive summary, section openers):

1. Hook a specific, surprising, or urgent opening statement
2. Context 12 sentences orienting the reader
3. Thesis the main claim or argument in one sentence
4. Signpost briefly indicate what follows

Conclusion structure (executive summary close, funding request close):

1. Signal "This plan demonstrates that..." / "The evidence shows..."
2. Summary 23 sentences restating the strongest points
3. Rounding-off sentence one final sentence the reader will not forget

Transitions by function:

Purpose	Linking devices
Adding a point	Furthermore, In addition, Moreover, Equally
Contrasting	However, Nevertheless, On the other hand, Yet
Cause/result	Therefore, Consequently, As a result, Thus
Illustrating	For example, For instance, To illustrate, Specifically
Concluding	In conclusion, Overall, To summarise, Ultimately
Conceding	Although, While, Despite this, Even though

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Business Writing Style (Geffner)

The Four Cs every document must be:

1. Complete all questions the reader will ask are answered
2. Accurate every figure, date, and claim is verifiable
3. Clear no ambiguity; the meaning cannot be misread
4. Concise nothing that does not earn its place

Document tone rules:

• Match formality to the reader: bank credit officer (formal), business partner (semi-formal), WhatsApp update (informal)
• Write in the positive: state what is, not what is not
• Use "you approach": write from the reader's perspective, not the writer's
• Avoid hedging unless genuinely uncertain: "The business will generate" not "The business should hopefully generate"

Strong verbs replace weak constructions:

Weak	Strong
There is a need for	Requires
Make a decision	Decide
Give consideration to	Consider
Be in a position to	Can
Have an effect on	Affect

Parallelism all items in a list must follow the same grammatical form:

The business will: expand operations, hiring new staff, and we will enter new markets. The business will: expand operations, hire new staff, and enter new markets.

Report structure:

1. Executive summary (conclusion first)
2. Introduction (scope and background)
3. Body (findings, analysis, evidence)
4. Conclusions
5. Recommendations
6. Appendices (supporting data)

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Narrative and Storytelling (Rubie & Provost)

The Provost Paragraph the anatomy of a compelling story, applicable to any business narrative:

1. A character with a want (the founder, the customer, or the business itself)
2. A problem that stands in the way (conflict, gap, obstacle)
3. Struggle the attempts to overcome the problem
4. Deepening the stakes become clearer or higher
5. A moment of resolution or revelation
6. A changed world how things are now different
7. An emotional truth the reader takes away
8. A new question that propels the reader forward

Apply to: executive summary, founder narrative, case study, market problem section.

The high-concept hook open any document with one sentence that captures the entire proposition:

Formula: [What the business does] + [for whom] + [in a way no one else does] + [producing what result]

Uganda examples:

• "A solar financing company that turns smallholder farmers in Northern Uganda into energy asset owners without requiring collateral."
• "A Kampala cold chain operator that has cut post-harvest losses for 200 vegetable traders by 60% in 18 months."

Show, don't tell:

• "There is significant demand for this product."
• "During our pilot, 47 traders in Owino Market placed repeat orders within two weeks without being asked."

The origin story the founder narrative should answer:

1. What problem did you personally encounterSection
2. What did you try first (and why did it not work)Section
3. What did you learn that nobody else knowsSection
4. What does success look like for you and your communitySection

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Anti-AI Checklist (apply before finalising any section)

Remove every instance of:

• "In today's fast-paced world" / "In today's competitive landscape"
• "It is worth noting that" / "It should be noted that"
• "Robust" / "Leverage" / "Synergy" / "Seamless" / "Game-changing" / "Innovative solution"
• "Unlock" / "Dive into" / "Navigate" / "Harness" / "Delve"
• Sentences that start with "Furthermore, it is important to..."
• Lists of five bullet points each beginning with "Ensure that..."
• Any paragraph that describes what the next paragraph will say instead of saying it

Replace passive-voice constructions. Replace hedging language. Replace abstract nouns with concrete ones. Add a specific number or named place to any claim that currently has neither.

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References

• references/words-at-work-hood.md Plain English checklist, reversed triangle, document structure, common mistakes table, editing checklists (Hood, Words at Work)
• references/essay-writing-shiach.md Argument structure, introduction/conclusion formulas, transitions master list, waffle diagnosis test (Shiach, How to Write Essays)
• references/business-english-geffner.md Four Cs, parallelism rules, business document conventions, positive framing, expressions to avoid, report/proposal structure (Geffner, Business English)
• references/storytelling-rubie-provost.md Provost Paragraph, high-concept hook, scene-writing, conflict mechanics, book proposal structure applicable to business proposals (Rubie & Provost, How to Tell a Story)
• ../premium-commercial-writing/SKILL.md Cross-cutting premium commercial writing layer for commercial purpose, differentiation, proof, SEO/AI-search visibility, investor polish, and premium-fee quality gates.