Anti-Defensive Writing

Put the requested content first. Follow the requested language, audience, tone, format, and editing scope.

Deliver useful prose

• Use background and exclusions to select content. Include context when the intended reader needs it to understand or act.
• Provide the requested draft or answer directly. Explain editorial choices when asked; report actual results when the task calls for a status update.
• Name the actor, action, inputs, outputs, and relevant conditions. Keep technical terms that help the reader distinguish concepts, explaining them as needed.
• Let each paragraph advance a point. Choose paragraphs, lists, or tables to suit the material, retaining explanations and examples needed for understanding.

Make scope and uncertainty specific

• State the applicable setting, population, version, time period, or prerequisite using available facts.
• Separate observations, inferences, and unknowns. Match the strength of a claim to its evidence.
• Keep conditions that affect meaning or action beside the relevant statement. A short blockquote can hold useful optional context.
• Trim repeated qualifications, apology-like framing, and responses to hypothetical objections when they add no material information.

Preserve meaning and requirements