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MyAiConfiguration/shared/skills/copy-editing/references/quick-pass-checks.md
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Julian lechnerandClaude Opus 5.5 c8b00584d9 refactor(skills): move copy-editing catalogs to references
Keep the decision steps in SKILL.md and move catalogs, examples, and
checklists verbatim to references/ to reduce the context cost of loading the
skill.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-01 11:01:55 +02:00

1011 B

Quick-Pass Editing Checks

Word-Level Checks

Cut these words:

  • Very, really, extremely, incredibly (weak intensifiers)
  • Just, actually, basically (filler)
  • In order to (use "to")
  • That (often unnecessary)
  • Things, stuff (vague)

Replace these:

Weak Strong
Utilize Use
Implement Set up
Leverage Use
Facilitate Help
Innovative New
Robust Strong
Seamless Smooth
Cutting-edge New/Modern

Watch for:

  • Adverbs (usually unnecessary)
  • Passive voice (switch to active)
  • Nominalizations (verb → noun: "make a decision" → "decide")

Sentence-Level Checks

  • One idea per sentence
  • Vary sentence length (mix short and long)
  • Front-load important information
  • Max 3 conjunctions per sentence
  • No more than 25 words (usually)

Paragraph-Level Checks

  • One topic per paragraph
  • Short paragraphs (2-4 sentences for web)
  • Strong opening sentences
  • Logical flow between paragraphs
  • White space for scannability