---
name: writing-clearly-and-concisely
description: Apply Strunk's writing rules to any prose humans will read—documentation, commit messages, error messages, explanations, reports, or UI text. Makes your writing clearer.
---

# Writing Clearly and Concisely

## Overview

William Strunk Jr.'s *The Elements of Style* (1918) teaches you to write clearly and cut ruthlessly.

**NOTE:** `elements-of-style.md` is now condensed to ~1,400 tokens while preserving all essential rules.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill whenever you write prose for humans:

- Documentation, README files, technical explanations
- Commit messages, pull request descriptions
- Error messages, UI copy, help text, comments
- Reports, summaries, or any explanation
- Editing to improve clarity

If you're writing sentences for a human to read, use this skill.

## How to Use

Three reference levels depending on context:

1. **Ultra-fast lookup**: `quick-reference.md` (~300 tokens) - All rules on one page
2. **Complete guide**: `elements-of-style.md` (~1,400 tokens) - Full examples and technical writing guidance
3. **Test examples**: `../../../examples/writing-examples.md` - 100+ before/after examples

Choose based on available context and complexity of writing task.

## All Rules

### Section II: Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)
1. Form possessive singular by adding 's
2. Use comma after each term in series except last
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
4. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause
5. Don't join independent clauses by comma
6. Don't break sentences in two
7. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject

### Section III: Elementary Principles of Composition
8. One paragraph per topic
9. Begin paragraph with topic sentence
10. **Use active voice** ⭐
11. **Put statements in positive form** ⭐
12. **Use definite, specific, concrete language** ⭐
13. **Omit needless words** ⭐
14. Avoid succession of loose sentences
15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
16. **Keep related words together** ⭐
17. Keep to one tense in summaries
18. **Place emphatic words at end of sentence** ⭐

⭐ = Most impactful for technical writing

### Section V: Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
Alphabetical reference for usage questions

## Bottom Line

Writing for humans? Read `elements-of-style.md` and apply the rules.