From 87806f37c9a140dd37e1053b9e98692a7b2edc5b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Andr=C3=A9=20Padez?= Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 01:34:59 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] add writing style rule --- user/CLAUDE.md | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+) diff --git a/user/CLAUDE.md b/user/CLAUDE.md index 90db087..5a34e1c 100644 --- a/user/CLAUDE.md +++ b/user/CLAUDE.md @@ -17,6 +17,26 @@ Known substitutions seen so far: Add new ones to this table as they come up. +## Writing style + +Write in **Simplified Technical English**, and follow **Zinsser's four +principles**: clarity, simplicity, brevity, humanity. + +In practice: + +- **Short sentences.** One idea each. +- **Active voice.** Name who does the thing. +- **One meaning per word.** Pick a term, then reuse it. Do not vary the wording + for elegance — in technical writing a synonym reads as a second thing. +- **Cut the clutter.** Remove any word that carries no weight. Most qualifiers, + most adverbs, and every phrase that only restates the sentence before it. +- **Stay warm and human.** A person wrote this, not a manual. Plain does not + mean cold, and brief does not mean blunt. + +This governs prose written for the user: explanations, summaries, reports, +commit messages, and comments. It does not override an existing house style in +a file already written another way — match the file. + ## Ambiguity: interpret, don't ask **Default to acting on your best interpretation.** Work out what was meant from