concise-english

Concise English (ASD-STE100-inspired)

Rewrite English so a machine or a non-native reader cannot misread it, based on ASD-STE100 (aerospace controlled-language standard). Removes the two biggest misreading sources: words with more than one meaning, and sentences with more than one possible structure.

When to use this skill

• Agent output (explanation, instruction, log message, tool description) reads as dense, jargon-heavy, or ambiguous.
• Text will be consumed by another agent, a translation pipeline, or a non-native English reader, and misparsing has a real cost.
• Writing a prompt, system message, or tool description that must be unambiguous.
• User mentions: disambiguate, plain-language rewrite, controlled language, concise English, rewrite so an agent cannot misread this.

Not for creative or marketing copy — STE is deliberately flat and literal.

Two modes

Pick a mode before rewriting; infer from text type if the user does not say.

• Strict — procedures, error messages, tool/function descriptions, inter-agent instructions, safety text. Apply every rule, including hard length caps.
• STE-flavored — READMEs, PR descriptions, changelogs, explanatory prose. Apply structural rules in full; treat lexical rules as advisory. Dropping the one-word-one-meaning lockdown keeps prose readable.

Structural rules — apply with confidence

Rule	Do	Don't
Active voice	"The agent deletes the file."	"The file is deleted (by the agent)." — unless the actor is genuinely unknown
No phrasal verbs	"Remove the panel." / "Start the job."	"Take off the panel." / "Spin up the job."
One instruction per sentence	"Open the file. Read line 3."	"Open the file and read line 3, then check if it matches."
Sentence length	≤20 words instructions, ≤25 words descriptions	Long compound/subordinate sentences
No semicolons	Split into separate sentences	Any semicolon at all
Noun clusters	≤3 stacked words ("fuel pump valve")	4+ word stacks
No ellipsis	Keep subject, verb, article explicit	"Files not backed up will be lost"
Keep modality	"may have failed" stays "may have"	Promote a hedge to a fact
Paragraph limits	One topic, ≤6 sentences	Multi-topic paragraphs
Lists for sequences	3+ steps or conditions → numbered/bulleted list	Sequence buried in prose

Lexical rules — direction of travel only

Rule	Do	Don't
One word, one meaning	Pick one verb per action and reuse it ("check" everywhere, never mix check/verify/confirm)	Rotate synonyms for the same idea
One part of speech per word	"Apply oil to the valve" (noun)	"Oil the valve" (verb)
Verb, not noun	"Analyze the log."	"Perform an analysis of the log."
Domain terms	Keep technical nouns; define once if uncommon	Undefined jargon

Consistency within a document is checkable. Which word is the approved one needs the official ASD dictionary (~900 words), which this skill does not reproduce — never claim dictionary compliance. Get it from https://www.asd-ste100.org/STE_downloads.html if exact wording matters.

Simple tenses

Permit infinitive, imperative, simple present/past/future, past participle as adjective. Exclude present perfect and other compound forms: "we received the report", not "we have received the report".

Exception: where the compound form carries information the simple form cannot — current relevance ("the job has completed" = output available now) or a hedge ("may have failed") — keep it and flag the departure.

Scan checklist (before rewriting)

1. Synonym rotation — the same thing gets several names ("user", "customer", "client"). Pick one name, reuse it.
2. Hedge stacking — helper verbs pile up until the sentence asserts nothing ("may potentially help to improve"). State the claim or delete it.
3. Nominalization — action frozen into a noun ("perform an analysis of"). Use the verb ("analyze").
4. Marketing adjectives — seamless, robust, powerful, cutting-edge. Delete, or replace with the measurement.
5. Run-on sentences — several ideas joined by semicolons or em dashes. One idea per sentence.
6. Soft phrasal verbs — spin up, reach out, kick off. Use the single plain verb (start, contact, begin).

Process

1. Pick the mode (Strict or STE-flavored).
2. Read the input once for meaning. Rewrite nothing until understood.
3. Walk sentence by sentence; flag every rule violation and checklist habit.
4. Rewrite each flagged sentence, preserving meaning exactly.
   • Check modality before committing. A rewrite that upgrades "may have failed" to "failed" is a different claim, not a simplification. Hedges are content.
   • Never add a fact the source did not state. A rewrite that reads better because it supplies a cause or frequency has stopped being a rewrite.
5. Output the rewritten text.

Output format

Default: the rewritten text, and nothing else. No preamble, no mode announcement, no violation count, no summary.

One permitted addition: if a longer phrasing was kept on purpose, add a single line after the text, prefixed Kept as-is:, naming the phrase and the precision preserved. Omit when nothing to report.

On request ("show the diff", "which rules did it break"): output a rule table instead:

| Rule violated | Original | Simplified |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect tense | "We have received your request." | "We received your request." |

Mode: Strict. 7 violations found.

Then one line on anything deliberately not simplified, and why.

Boundaries

• Will rewrite ambiguous/dense English into short, single-meaning, active-voice sentences; preserve every fact, condition, scope qualifier, and hedge strength.
• Will not silently drop a safety condition or scope qualifier to shorten a sentence; will not convert "may have failed" into "failed"; will not reproduce the official ASD dictionary; will not guarantee certified STE compliance; will not simplify creative or persuasive copy.
• Shorten only to the point of clarity, not to the shortest possible text. Past that point compression costs the reader more than it saves.
• STE fixes the form, not the substance. A hollow paragraph rewritten is still hollow — say so instead of polishing.

Additional resources

• Source: https://github.com/danyuchn/asd-ste100-skill/blob/master/SKILL.md
• Source's references/writing-rules.md and examples/before-after.md for the full 9-section rule summary and worked examples.