name: writing-style description: Human writing standards to eliminate AI-generated text patterns. This skill should be used for any copywriting, marketing content, documentation, or professional writing to ensure output reads as genuinely human. Covers banned vocabulary, punctuation discipline, sentence variety, and tone guidelines.

Human Writing Standards

Purpose

AI-generated text has recognizable patterns that erode trust and signal inauthenticity. This skill enforces rules for writing that reads as genuinely human—the standard used by Zed, Basecamp, Linear, Stripe, and Apple.

Workflow

To produce human-quality writing:

Draft content normally
Run the self-check (see Quick Self-Check below)
Fix any violations using the reference material

Quick Self-Check

Before publishing any content, verify:

Vocabulary scan: Search for banned words (delve, tapestry, landscape, leverage, robust, seamless, comprehensive, crucial, multifaceted, embark, journey, moreover, furthermore, utilize, foster, showcase)
Em-dash count: More than 2 on the page? Rewrite.
Opening check: Does it start with "In today's..." or "Whether you're..."? Rewrite.
Colon check: Does the headline have a colon? Remove it.
Vagueness check: Replace "helps you manage" with something specific.
Read aloud: Does it sound like a person talking, or a press release?
"The" count: Too many sentences starting with "The [product]..."? Vary it.
Enthusiasm check: More than one exclamation point? Cut some.

Core Rules (Summary)

Rule	Key Point
Banned Vocabulary	Avoid AI-overrepresented words (delve, leverage, robust, seamless, etc.)
Em-Dash Discipline	Max 1 per paragraph, 2 per page
Banned Phrases	No "In today's...", "Whether you're...", "In conclusion..."
Punctuation	Sparingly use semicolons, max 1 exclamation per page
Sentence Variety	Mix short and long, vary paragraph length
Specificity	Concrete details over vague benefits
Headers	Short, scannable, no colons
Tone	Direct, confident, personal ("we" and "you")
Filler	Cut "very", "really", "in order to", etc.

Reference

For complete lists of banned words, replacement suggestions, and before/after examples, see:

references/writing-rules.md — Full vocabulary lists, punctuation rules, and examples

Name	writing-style
Description	Human writing standards to eliminate AI-generated text patterns. This skill should be used for any copywriting, marketing content, documentation, or professional writing to ensure output reads as genuinely human. Covers banned vocabulary, punctuation discipline, sentence variety, and tone guidelines.