Unslop
Write clean as you draft. Then scan for these tells and rewrite. Keep the meaning and tone.
Tells to remove
Words
- Inflated vocabulary: delve, crucial, pivotal, robust, seamless, leverage, utilize, showcase, underscore, tapestry, landscape, testament, vibrant, intricate. Use the plain word.
- "Serves as", "stands as", "boasts". Say "is" or "has".
- Abstract metaphor nouns: paradigm, north star, flywheel, substrate, bedrock. Name the concrete thing.
- Adverbs that prop up weak verbs: "significantly improves". Give the number or a stronger verb.
Sentences
- "Not just X, but Y." State Y.
- Forced groups of three. Use the real count.
- Trailing "-ing" clauses: "ensuring reliability", "highlighting the need". Delete them or make a real claim.
- Vague sources: "experts say", "many believe". Name the source or cut it.
- Filler: "in order to", "it is important to note that", "due to the fact that".
- Stacked hedges: "could potentially". Pick one qualifier or none.
- Passive voice that hides the actor. Name who does it.
- Feelings instead of mechanisms. If a sentence fits any project's docs unchanged, cut it.
- Generic endings: "the future looks bright". End on a fact or the next step.
- Over-compressed fragments, arrows, and symbol shorthand. Write full sentences with articles and verbs.
Formatting
- Em dashes. Use a period or a comma.
- Colons used as mid-sentence connectors. Keep colons before lists.
- Bold on every term, and "Label: label restated" bullets.
- Title Case Headings. Use sentence case.
- Decorative emojis and curly quotes.
Chat habits
- Openers and closers: "Great question", "Certainly", "I hope this helps", "Let me know if".
- Agreement as a reflex. Give your actual judgment.
Code comments
- Comments that narrate the next line, banner comments, and commented-out code. Delete them.
- Keep only comments that explain a reason the code cannot show.
Rewrite procedure
- Name the reader and what they need to do or know after reading.
- Delete every sentence that does not serve that need.
- Replace synonyms for one thing with a single name. Use the real file, flag, or command name.
- Split sentences that carry two ideas. Vary sentence length.
- Put conditions before instructions: "To reset the cache, run
make clean." - Make every "it" and "this" point at one clear noun.
- Replace vague claims with a number, a command, or a concrete example.
- Reread once for the tells. A stiff sentence that follows every rule still needs a fix.
Example
Before: "This robust tool serves as a powerful way to seamlessly streamline your workflow, ensuring efficiency."
After: "sync.sh copies changed files to the server in about two seconds."
