// Edit writing to adopt Paul Graham's exceptionally clear style for research and long-form content - concrete language, varied sentence rhythm, accessible formality, specific evidence. Use when user wants to rewrite content in PG's style or asks to "make this clearer" or "simplify research writing."
| name | pg-style-editor |
| description | Edit writing to adopt Paul Graham's exceptionally clear style for research and long-form content - concrete language, varied sentence rhythm, accessible formality, specific evidence. Use when user wants to rewrite content in PG's style or asks to "make this clearer" or "simplify research writing." |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit"] |
Apply Paul Graham's writing principles to make research and long-form content clearer, more concrete, and more engaging.
Based on analysis of 35 Paul Graham essays - including long-form research on economics, philosophy, systems analysis, and analytical frameworks.
Use when the user:
Keywords to watch for: Paul Graham, PG style, clearer, simpler, more concrete, conversational, accessible
Pattern: Short sentences after long ones create impact.
Bad (monotonous):
We need to consider the implications of this decision. This decision will affect our entire organization. The organization has many stakeholders. The stakeholders all have different priorities.
Good (varied rhythm):
This decision affects everyone. Our stakeholders have competing priorities, from customers who want features shipped fast to investors who want profitability. Which matters most? Growth.
Rules:
Pattern: Germanic words over Latinate. Concrete over abstract.
Bad:
We utilized advanced methodologies to facilitate optimization of the user experience and enhance customer satisfaction metrics.
Good:
We fixed the bugs users complained about most.
Rules:
Pattern: Objective yet clear - research-appropriate tone.
Bad (academic pomposity):
It has been observed that individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities often encounter challenges that necessitate innovative problem-solving approaches.
Good (accessible formal):
Startups face problems textbook answers don't address. Solutions must emerge through systematic experimentation rather than predetermined frameworks.
Rules:
Pattern: 3-6 sentences typical for research, up to 10 for complex arguments.
Bad (wall of text):
[One paragraph with 15+ sentences covering multiple unrelated ideas with no breaks]
Good (focused development):
[Paragraph 1: Introduces framework - 4 sentences]
[Paragraph 2: Applies to historical case - 6 sentences with evidence]
[Paragraph 3: Addresses counterargument - 5 sentences]
[Paragraph 4: Synthesizes implications - 3 sentences]
Rules:
Pattern: Ground abstractions in concrete, verifiable evidence.
Bad (vague claims):
Many successful companies started by focusing on a small market. This approach often works better than targeting everyone.
Good (specific evidence):
Facebook started at Harvard. Dropbox and Airbnb raised at $4 million and $2.6 million valuations respectively, targeting narrow user segments. Historical evidence suggests focused markets outperform broad ones in early-stage growth.
Types of Evidence for Research:
Historical examples: Named people, companies, events
Numerical data: Specific metrics, percentages, timelines
Systematic patterns: Multiple cases showing trend
Thought experiments: Grounded hypotheticals
Rules:
Pattern: Engage readers through questions and logical progression, not personality.
Research-Appropriate Techniques:
Rhetorical questions (guide thinking without "you")
Parenthetical asides (add nuance)
Acknowledge counterarguments (intellectual honesty)
Footnotes (scholarly rigor without derailing)
Example:
The conventional assumption holds that markets discover products organically. Historical evidence suggests otherwise. Facebook, Dropbox, and Airbnb all required manual user acquisition. (Even software that "should" sell itself needs deliberate distribution strategy.)
What to Avoid:
Research essay patterns:
Puzzle → Investigation → Resolution
Framework → Application → Implications
Claim → Evidence → Counter → Refinement
Long-form structure elements:
Graham's process:
Rules:
❌ Casual conversational elements (for research writing)
❌ Formal/stuffy academic language
❌ Unnecessary complexity
❌ Vagueness
❌ False hedging
❌ Academic pomposity
Get the text they want edited:
Check for:
Show:
For each major change, cite the PG principle:
The implementation of our strategic initiative necessitates the utilization of advanced technological solutions to facilitate optimization of operational efficiency. This will enable us to enhance our competitive positioning in the marketplace and drive sustainable growth trajectories.
❌ Latinate words (implementation, necessitates, utilization) ❌ Vague (strategic initiative, technological solutions, sustainable growth) ❌ Passive voice ❌ Formal tone ❌ No concrete examples
Organizations face a recurring problem: manual processes consume resources better spent on core work. Software automation addresses this directly. When Stripe automated deployment, release time dropped from hours to minutes. Engineers shipped features 10x faster. The pattern holds across industries.
When editing content, present:
## Original
[User's original text]
## PG-Style Edit
[Rewritten version]
## What Changed
1. **[Specific change 1]** - [Why / which principle]
2. **[Specific change 2]** - [Why / which principle]
3. **[Specific change 3]** - [Why / which principle]
## Checklist
- ✅ Varied sentence length
- ✅ Simple, concrete words
- ✅ Objective tone (no "I/you")
- ✅ Focused paragraphs
- ✅ Specific evidence
- ✅ Section headers (if long)
- ✅ Unnecessary words cut
- ✅ Evidence before conclusions
Paul Graham's research style works because:
Your job: Apply these principles to research writing while preserving the user's core message.
Based on analysis of 35 Paul Graham essays:
Writing craft (11): Good Writing, Write Simply, Write Like You Talk, How to Write Usefully, Putting Ideas into Words, Writing and Speaking, Writing Briefly, The Age of the Essay, Writes and Write-Nots, Post-Medium Publishing, The Shape of the Essay Field
Long-form research (15): How to Do Great Work, Do Things That Don't Scale, What You'll Wish You'd Known, Beating the Averages, Relentlessly Resourceful, The Origins of Wokeness, Superlinear Returns, How to Get New Ideas, The Four Quadrants of Conformism, Modeling a Wealth Tax, Economic Inequality, The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius, A Unified Theory of VC Suckage, How to Make Wealth, How to Raise Money
Technical (5): Hackers and Painters, The Hundred-Year Language, Revenge of the Nerds, Being a Noob, What Made Lisp Different
Short (4): Startup = Growth, Mean People Fail, Keep Your Identity Small, How to Get Startup Ideas
Pattern documentation:
~/claude-vibe-code/docs/pg-style-patterns-research.md~/claude-vibe-code/docs/pg-style-patterns.md