How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Which agent frameworks does writing-clearly-and-concisely support?

writing-clearly-and-concisely works with any agent framework supported by the Skills registry, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Is writing-clearly-and-concisely free to use?

Yes. writing-clearly-and-concisely is free to install and use. It is available from the open explainx.ai skill registry published by obra.

Where can I read ratings and reviews for writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Community ratings and review text appear on this explainx.ai skill page below the description. Reviews use a 1–5 scale and may include short written feedback from signed-in members.

How do I install writing-clearly-and-concisely?

Run `npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely` in your terminal. You need to have run `npx skills init` once in your project first.

Productivity

writing-clearly-and-concisely

Apply Strunk's timeless writing rules to improve clarity and professionalism across all prose.

obra/the-elements-of-style|Updated Apr 8, 2026

Works with

Claude CodeCursorClineWindsurfCodexGooseGitHub CopilotZed

total installs

this week

327

GitHub stars

upvotes

Install Skill

Run in your terminal

$npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely

installs

this week

327

stars

View on GitHub

writing clearly and concisely

0 commentsJoin discussion →

What it does

Covers 18 core rules spanning grammar, punctuation, composition principles, and common usage mistakes
Emphasizes active voice, positive framing, concrete language, and ruthless word elimination as key clarity drivers
Designed for documentation, commit messages, error messages, UI copy, reports, and any prose humans will read
Includes token-efficient subagent dispatch pattern: write a dra

Repository

obra/the-elements-of-style

Last updated

Apr 8, 2026

Installation Guide

Select your AI agent

How to use writing-clearly-and-concisely on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

›Cursor installed and configured on your machine
›Node.js 16+ with npm — verify with node --version
›Active project directory where you want to add writing-clearly-and-concisely

Run the install command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

$npx skills add https://github.com/obra/the-elements-of-style --skill writing-clearly-and-concisely

Fetches writing-clearly-and-concisely from obra/the-elements-of-style and configures it for Cursor.

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI shows a list of agents. Use arrow keys and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?

│

│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ────────────────

│ · Cline · Codex · Goose · Windsurf

│ ●Cursor(selected)

│ · Cursor · Aider · Continue

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/writing-clearly-and-concisely

Restart Cursor to activate writing-clearly-and-concisely. Access via /writing-clearly-and-concisely in your agent's command palette.

⚠

Security Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your environment. Always review source, verify the publisher, and test in isolation before production.

›View source on GitHub ›Skills CLI docs ›About Cursor ›What are agent skills?

Documentation

Writing Clearly and Concisely

Overview

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

WARNING: elements-of-style.md consumes ~12,000 tokens. Read it only when writing or editing prose.

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.

Limited Context Strategy

When context is tight:

Write your draft using judgment
Dispatch a subagent with your draft and elements-of-style.md
Have the subagent copyedit and return the revision

All Rules

Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)

Form possessive singular by adding 's
Use comma after each term in series except last
Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause
Don't join independent clauses by comma
Don't break sentences in two
Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject

Elementary Principles of Composition

One paragraph per topic
Begin paragraph with topic sentence
Use active voice
Put statements in positive form
Use definite, specific, concrete language
Omit needless words
Avoid succession of loose sentences
Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
Keep related words together
Keep to one tense in summaries
Place emphatic words at end of sentence

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. Low on tokens? Dispatch a subagent to copyedit with the guide.

List & Monetize Your Skill

Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning

Get started →

Use Cases

User Story & Requirements Generation

Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs

Example

Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios

✓

Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage

Competitive Analysis

Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps

Example

Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities

✓

Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days

Roadmap Prioritization

Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs

Example

Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale

✓

Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster

Stakeholder Communication

Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations

Example

Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement

✓

Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
›Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
›Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
›Stakeholder contact information and communication channels

Time Estimate

30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements

Steps

1Install product management skill
2Start with user story generation for known feature
3Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
4Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
5Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
6Build template library for recurring PM tasks
7Share effective prompts with product team

Common Pitfalls

⚠Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
⚠Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
⚠Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
⚠Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
⚠Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements

Best Practices

✓ Do

+Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
+Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
+Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
+Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
+Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
+Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition

✗ Don't

−Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
−Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
−Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
−Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
−Don't ignore company-specific context and culture

💡 Pro Tips

★Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
★Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
★Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
★Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs

When to Use This

✓ Use when

Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.

✗ Avoid when

Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.

Learning Path

1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation

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Reviews

4.5★★★★★40 reviews

K
Kwame Jackson★★★★★Dec 28, 2024
Registry listing for writing-clearly-and-concisely matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.
A
Advait Lopez★★★★★Dec 24, 2024
writing-clearly-and-concisely fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
D
Dhruvi Jain★★★★★Dec 8, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: writing-clearly-and-concisely is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
H
Harper Gill★★★★★Dec 8, 2024
writing-clearly-and-concisely is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
O
Oshnikdeep★★★★★Nov 27, 2024
We added writing-clearly-and-concisely from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
H
Hassan Gonzalez★★★★★Nov 23, 2024
Keeps context tight: writing-clearly-and-concisely is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
H
Harper Rao★★★★★Nov 19, 2024
Useful defaults in writing-clearly-and-concisely — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
K
Kwame Mehta★★★★★Nov 15, 2024
writing-clearly-and-concisely has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
G
Ganesh Mohane★★★★★Oct 18, 2024
writing-clearly-and-concisely fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
J
Jin Jain★★★★★Oct 14, 2024
writing-clearly-and-concisely is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

writing-clearly-and-concisely

Install Skill

What it does

Category

Repository

Last updated

Installation Guide

How to use writing-clearly-and-concisely on Cursor

Prerequisites

Run the install command

Select Cursor when prompted

Verify installation

Security Notice

Documentation

Writing Clearly and Concisely

Overview

When to Use This Skill

Limited Context Strategy

All Rules

Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)

Elementary Principles of Composition

Section V: Words and Expressions Commonly Misused

Bottom Line

List & Monetize Your Skill

Use Cases

User Story & Requirements Generation

Competitive Analysis

Roadmap Prioritization

Stakeholder Communication

Implementation Guide

Best Practices

When to Use This

Learning Path

Related Skills

ml-paper-writing

grill-me

premortem

deslop

framer-motion

write-a-prd

Reviews

Discussion