# Humanlike Writing Skill


## Purpose

Produce writing that reads like experienced journalism and direct-response copywriting rather than generic AI output. The goal is to apply the methods used by professional journalists and nonfiction writers.

The skill focuses on:

* Clear facts instead of vague claims
* Concrete details instead of abstractions
* Active verbs instead of passive constructions
* Natural sentence rhythm
* Strong structure
* Evidence-backed claims
* Multiple editing passes

And follows the principles of:

- William Zinsser (clarity, simplicity, precision)
- Roy Peter Clark (sentence architecture, rhythm, reader attention)
- John McPhee (reporting, information gathering, structural design)


---

# Core Writing Principles

## 1. Prefer Concrete Language

Replace abstractions with observable facts.

Bad:

> The company operates in a dynamic business landscape.

Better:

> The company sells industrial sensors to automotive manufacturers in Germany and Poland.

Whenever possible use:

* Names
* Numbers
* Dates
* Places
* Products
* Measured outcomes

---

## 2. Use Active Verbs

Bad:

> The report was reviewed by the team.

Better:

> The team reviewed the report.

Prefer:

* reduced
* increased
* launched
* tested
* measured
* built
* repaired

Avoid weak constructions:

* was able to
* started to
* began to
* attempted to

---

## 3. Eliminate Weak Modifiers

Remove words that weaken authority:

* somewhat
* rather
* quite
* fairly
* kind of
* sort of
* a bit
* slightly

---

## 4. Remove AI Language

Delete or rewrite phrases such as:

* Let's dive in
* It's important to note
* It's worth mentioning
* As we can see
* In today's rapidly evolving landscape
* Revolutionary solution
* Cutting-edge platform
* Seamless experience
* Unlock potential
* Game-changing innovation

Replace them with direct factual statements.

Bad:

> Let's dive into how this revolutionary platform transforms business operations.

Better:

> The platform reduced support response time from 3 hours to 19 minutes.

---

# Sentence Construction

## Use Right-Branching Sentences

Put the subject and verb early.

Bad:

> After months of research involving multiple departments and extensive stakeholder interviews, the company finally released the product.

Better:

> The company released the product after months of research and stakeholder interviews.

---

## Vary Sentence Length

Mix short and long sentences.

Example:

> The server crashed. Engineers traced the failure to an incompatible memory module installed during a maintenance window the previous evening, forcing order processing offline for four hours.

Avoid long sequences of sentences with identical length and structure.

---

## Put Important Words Near the End

Readers naturally emphasize the final words before a period.

Weak:

> The team achieved impressive results during the quarter.

Better:

> The team cut customer churn by 28%.

---

# Research Process

## Step 1: Gather Material

Collect:

* Facts
* Numbers
* Quotes
* Historical examples
* Expert opinions
* Customer evidence

Aim to collect substantially more information than will appear in the final draft.

Never invent facts.

---

## Step 2: Build the Lead

The opening paragraph should:

* Establish the topic
* Create curiosity
* Set expectations

Do not use generic introductions.

---

## Step 3: Draft Quickly

Write without editing.

Focus on:

* Information
* Logic
* Structure

Ignore wording problems during drafting.

---

## Step 4: Edit Aggressively

Rewrite until every paragraph serves a purpose.

---

# Copywriting Framework Selection

Choose structure based on audience awareness.

## Unaware

Use PPPP

* Picture
* Promise
* Proof
* Push

## Problem Aware

Use PAS

* Problem
* Agitation
* Solution

## Solution Aware

Use BAB

* Before
* After
* Bridge

## Product Aware

Use AIDA

* Attention
* Interest
* Desire
* Action

---

# Seven Editing Passes

## 1. Clarity

Can a first-time reader understand it?

Remove ambiguity.

## 2. Voice

Does the tone fit the audience?

Adjust formality and emotion.

## 3. Utility

Does each paragraph provide value?

Delete filler.

## 4. Proof

Can every claim be supported?

Add evidence.

## 5. Specificity

Replace generalities with facts.

Bad:

> Many customers improved performance.

Better:

> 82% of surveyed retailers reduced processing time.

## 6. Emotion

Match emotional intensity to context.

## 7. Risk Reduction

Address objections.

Add:

* Guarantees
* Proof
* Testimonials
* Supporting data

---

# Quality Checklist

Before delivering any content:

* No AI clichés
* No invented facts
* No empty introductions
* Active verbs dominate
* Specific numbers whenever available
* Sentence lengths vary
* Strong lead
* Clear structure
* Every paragraph provides value
* Claims supported by evidence
* Final editing pass completed

---

# Output Standard

The final text should resemble experienced reporting:

* Specific
* Verifiable
* Readable
* Concise
* Useful

If reliable facts are unavailable, request additional information rather than filling gaps with assumptions.

---

How to Use This Skill

As an Agent Skill

Install this file as a Codex skill by placing it in your skills directory:

~/.codex/skills/copywriting/
  └── SKILL.md

Then reference it when writing:

/load copywriting

Or invoke it directly in a prompt:

“Write a landing page for [product]. Apply the Humanlike Writing Skill.”

Standalone Usage

Copy the principles into your writing workflow. Before publishing, run the Seven Editing Passes and check the Quality Checklist. These two sections alone eliminate most AI-sounding text.

---

Why I Built It This Way

The skill isn’t a collection of random tips. Every section maps to a specific failure mode I saw in AI-generated content.

Concrete language kills the “dynamic landscape” problem. When you force yourself to write “reduced API latency from 850ms to 120ms” instead of “improved performance,” you’re forced to actually measure the thing. The writing process becomes an audit of your own claims.

Active verbs kill the passive constructions that make AI text feel like a corporate press release. “Was reviewed” hides who did the reviewing. “The team reviewed” assigns responsibility.

The AI language list is a blacklist I built by running 50 AI-generated drafts through a grep filter. Every phrase on that list appeared in at least 80% of the drafts. They’re not just bad style — they’re fingerprints of machine-generated text.

The copywriting framework selection solves a different problem. Most writers pick PAS because it’s popular. But PAS only works when the reader already knows they have a problem. If you’re writing for an unaware audience, PAS produces copy that agitates a problem the reader doesn’t think they have. That’s how you get bounce rates above 80%.

Seven editing passes instead of one because amateur writing happens in drafting and professional writing happens in revision. The gap between “good enough” and “publishable” lives entirely in passes four through seven. Most people stop at pass one.

“The difference between forgettable content and content that ranks isn’t talent. It’s process — specifically, how many times you’re willing to rewrite the same paragraph.”

How to Install It

As a Codex agent skill:

Copy the skill to ~/.codex/skills/copywriting/SKILL.md. Then invoke it with /load copywriting or reference it directly: “Write a landing page for [product]. Apply the Humanlike Writing Skill.”

Standalone usage:

Copy the principles into your writing workflow. The two sections that eliminate most AI-sounding text on their own are the Seven Editing Passes and the Quality Checklist. Run those before publishing anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make AI-generated content sound human?

Replace abstractions with observable facts, use active verbs, delete AI clichés like “let’s dive in” or “cutting-edge”, and apply seven editing passes: clarity, voice, utility, proof, specificity, emotion, and risk reduction. The specificity pass alone eliminates most AI-sounding patterns because AI defaults to generalities.

What copywriting framework should I use?

Choose based on audience awareness. Use PAS (Problem-Agitation-Solution) when readers know the problem but not the fix. Use BAB (Before-After-Bridge) when they know solutions exist. Use AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) when they already know your product. Use PPPP (Picture-Promise-Proof-Push) when readers don’t know they have a problem.

What are the signs of AI slop in content?

Watch for phrases like “in today’s rapidly evolving landscape”, vague claims without numbers, passive voice, weak modifiers (“somewhat”, “rather”, “quite”), identical sentence length throughout, and generic introductions that say nothing specific. If you can swap in any topic and the sentence still fits, it’s slop.

Why does the skill include a research process section?

Because writing quality depends on material quality. You can’t produce specific, verifiable content if you haven’t gathered facts, numbers, quotes, and evidence before drafting. The research process is a prerequisite, not an optional step.

How many editing passes does professional writing require?

Seven. Clarity, voice, utility, proof, specificity, emotion, and risk reduction. Most amateur writers do one pass. Professional journalists routinely do three to five. The gap between “good enough” and “publishable” lives in passes four through seven.

Conclusion

The writing techniques that produce clear, specific, human-sounding content aren’t new. They’re a century old. Zinsser, Clark, McPhee — these writers codified methods that professional journalists still use daily.

The difference now is that AI makes it easy to produce mediocre writing at scale. The antidote isn’t better prompts. It’s better standards. The skill above is one way to enforce those standards — whether you install it as a Codex agent skill or copy the principles into your own workflow.

Apply the concrete language rule. Use active verbs. Delete AI clichés. Run all seven editing passes.

The gap between forgettable content and content that ranks, converts, and builds trust isn’t talent. It’s process.

“Clear writing is thinking made visible. Vague writing is thinking avoided.”