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Assists with writing and editing general prose using Strunk & White's Elements of Style and Wikipedia's AI writing detection guide. Use when composing articles, blog posts, or editing text for clarity and authenticity.

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SKILL.md

name: "writing" description: "Assists with writing and editing general prose using Strunk & White's Elements of Style and Wikipedia's AI writing detection guide. Use when composing articles, blog posts, or editing text for clarity and authenticity."

Writing and Editing

This skill provides foundational style guides for clear, effective writing. Use this skill when drafting or editing any substantial text.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

  • Writing articles, blog posts, or essays
  • Editing prose for clarity, conciseness, or style
  • Need to avoid AI writing anti-patterns
  • User mentions writing, editing, style guides, or Elements of Style

Available Style Guides

This skill includes two essential style guides organized in style-guides/:

  1. General Writing - style-guides/elements-of-style.md

    • Strunk & White's Elements of Style
    • Universal grammar, usage, and composition principles
    • Use for: all writing as foundational reference

  2. AI Pattern Detection - style-guides/wikipedia-signs-of-ai-writing.md

    • Wikipedia's guide to identifying and avoiding AI writing patterns
    • Use for: final review of all AI-assisted writing

How to Use This Skill

Step 1: Understand Your Task

Determine what type of editing or writing assistance is needed:

  • Drafting new content → Start with Elements of Style principles
  • Editing existing content → Apply Elements of Style rules + check AI patterns
  • Final review → Always check Wikipedia AI anti-patterns guide

Step 2: Access Relevant Guides

The style guides are complete references:

  • Read style-guides/elements-of-style.md for fundamental writing principles
  • Read style-guides/wikipedia-signs-of-ai-writing.md for AI pattern detection

Step 3: Apply Principles

Follow this workflow:

Before Writing:

  1. Review Elements of Style chapters on structure
  2. Identify your thesis or main point
  3. Plan your argument

During Drafting:

  1. Write in prose (avoid bullet points unless requested)
  2. Use concrete language and active voice
  3. Follow structural guidance from Elements of Style

During Editing:

  1. Apply Elements of Style editing rules
  2. Check for logical, rhetorical, and word-choice problems
  3. Review against AI writing anti-patterns (always)

Critical Writing Rules

  1. Always write in prose - Avoid bullet points, lists, and outlines unless explicitly requested
  2. Use concrete examples - Don't rely on abstractions or generalizations
  3. Active voice preferred - Use passive voice only when necessary
  4. Check AI patterns - Always review against the AI anti-patterns guide
  5. Follow prescriptive rules - The style guide rules are proven; follow them unless you have specific reason not to

Examples

For any writing structure:

Read style-guides/elements-of-style.md
Apply: principles of composition, common errors to avoid, clarity

For final editing:

Read style-guides/wikipedia-signs-of-ai-writing.md
Check: repetitive phrasing, formulaic structure, authentic voice

Notes

  • Elements of Style is universal and applies to all domains
  • Wikipedia's AI detection guide helps ensure authentic, human voice
  • These two guides form a complete foundation for clear, effective writing
  • Load guides as needed for your current task to keep context efficient

README

Claude Code Writing Skill

A Claude Code skill for improving writing quality using foundational style guides.

Overview

This skill provides two essential writing guides to help Claude assist with drafting and editing prose:

  1. Strunk & White's Elements of Style - Timeless principles of clear, effective writing
  2. Wikipedia's AI Writing Detection Guide - Patterns to avoid when writing with AI assistance

Installation

For Claude Code

  1. Clone this repository to your Claude skills directory:
git clone https://github.com/edwinhu/claude-code-writing-skill.git ~/.claude/skills/writing
  1. The skill will be automatically available in Claude Code sessions.

Manual Installation

Copy the entire directory structure to ~/.claude/skills/writing/:

~/.claude/skills/writing/
├── SKILL.md
└── style-guides/
    ├── elements-of-style.md
    └── wikipedia-signs-of-ai-writing.md

Usage

In Claude Code

The skill activates automatically when you:

  • Mention "writing", "editing", or "style guide"
  • Ask Claude to draft articles, blog posts, or essays
  • Request editing assistance for prose

You can also manually invoke it:

Load the writing skill

What This Skill Does

For Drafting:

  • Applies principles from Elements of Style for clear structure and grammar
  • Guides use of active voice, concrete language, and proper composition
  • Helps avoid common writing errors

For Editing:

  • Checks for grammar, usage, and style issues per Elements of Style
  • Identifies AI writing patterns like repetitive phrasing and formulaic structure
  • Ensures authentic, human voice

Style Guides Included

Elements of Style (Strunk & White)

Classic writing guide covering:

  • Elementary rules of usage
  • Elementary principles of composition
  • Matters of form
  • Words and expressions commonly misused
  • Approach to style

Full text: style-guides/elements-of-style.md Gist: https://gist.github.com/edwinhu/02c10b3c143d242736a6dcb8b577afaf

Wikipedia's Signs of AI Writing

Comprehensive guide to detecting and avoiding AI writing patterns:

  • Repetitive phrases and sentence structures
  • Formulaic introductions and conclusions
  • Overly enthusiastic or hedging language
  • Loss of authentic voice

Full text: style-guides/wikipedia-signs-of-ai-writing.md Gist: https://gist.github.com/edwinhu/df5a8b00092532f9ddfb6edef31b1e57

Examples

Drafting an Article

Claude, I need to write a blog post about renewable energy trends.
Use the writing skill to help structure it clearly.

Claude will:

  1. Apply Elements of Style principles for structure
  2. Guide you toward concrete language and active voice
  3. Check the draft against AI writing patterns

Editing Existing Text

Claude, here's a draft I wrote. Edit it using the writing skill
to improve clarity and ensure it doesn't sound AI-generated.

Claude will:

  1. Apply Elements of Style editing rules
  2. Identify and fix common errors
  3. Remove AI writing patterns
  4. Ensure authentic human voice

Why These Two Guides?

Elements of Style is the foundation of clear writing. Published in 1918 and updated over the decades, it remains the gold standard for writing guidance.

Wikipedia's AI Writing Guide is essential in the age of AI assistance. It helps ensure that AI-assisted writing maintains authenticity and avoids telltale patterns.

Together, these guides provide both timeless writing principles and modern AI-awareness.

Contributing

This is a public repository derived from a personal dotfiles collection. Feel free to:

  • Open issues for errors in the style guides
  • Suggest improvements to the skill implementation
  • Share examples of how you use this skill

License

The skill implementation (SKILL.md) is released under MIT License.

The style guides themselves are factual compilations:

  • Elements of Style is in the public domain
  • Wikipedia content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Credits

  • William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White - Elements of Style
  • Wikipedia contributors - AI writing detection patterns
  • Claude Code - Skills system by Anthropic

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