plain-english-content
Installation
SKILL.md
Open content up so anyone can understand it the first time they read it, without losing substance, nuance or precision. Aim to open up, not dumb down. Apply the GOV.UK style guide approach: plain English, user needs first, active voice, front-loaded structure and accessible formatting.
Use this skill for reports, research write-ups, guidance, documentation, summaries, and public-facing prose where clarity and accessibility matter. When writing a report, default to this style. When briefing a research agent, pass this skill so the report follows the same style.
Content design principles
- Start from the user need. Write what the reader needs to know to do or decide something, not what the writer wants to say.
- Front-load everything. Put the most important point first in the document, each section, each paragraph and each sentence. Use the inverted pyramid: conclusion first, then detail, then background.
- Keep one idea per sentence and one topic per paragraph. Split sentences that contain more than one idea.
- Be specific and concrete. Give the number, name and date. Cut vague abstractions like "a range of", "going forward" and "in terms of".
- Cut everything that does not add meaning. Shorter is clearer. Remove duplication.