Prose Clarity Reviser
by @quochungto
Revise dense, unclear prose into clear, readable sentences by applying four diagnostic principles — characters-as-subjects, actions-as-verbs, old-before-new...
Example 1: Heavy Nominalization + Abstract Subject
Before: > The standardization of indices for the measurement of mood disorders has now made possible the quantification of patient response as a function of treatment differences.
After: > Having standardized indices for measuring mood disorders, we now can quantify patients' responses to different treatments.
Annotations:
[P2] *standardization* → *standardized*, *measurement* → *measuring*, *quantification* → *quantify*, *response* → *responses*[P1] Subject changed from the abstract nominalized phrase to *we*[P2] Vague verb *made possible* replaced by specific verb *can quantify*Example 2: Information Flow Broken Across Sentences
Before: > Locke frequently repeated himself because he did not trust the power of words to name things accurately. Seventeenth-century theories of language, especially Wilkins's scheme for a universal language involving the creation of countless symbols for countless meanings, had centered on this naming power. A new era in the study of language that focused on the ambiguous relationship between sense and reference begins with Locke's distrust.
After: > Locke often repeated himself because he distrusted the naming power of words. This naming power had been central to seventeenth-century theories of language, especially Wilkins's scheme for a universal language involving the creation of countless symbols for countless meanings. Locke's distrust begins a new era in the study of language, one that focused on the ambiguous relationship between sense and reference.
Annotations:
[P3] Sentence 2 rewritten to open with *This naming power* — picks up the phrase from sentence 1's end[P3] Sentence 3 rewritten to open with *Locke's distrust* — picks up the concept from sentence 2's end[P2] *distrust of* → *distrusted* (minor nominalization)[P4] New technical concept (*ambiguous relationship between sense and reference*) moved to sentence 3's endExample 3: Complexity at the Front, Technical Term Placement
Before: > The monoamine hypothesis has been the leading biological account of depression for over three decades.
After: > For over three decades, the leading biological account of depression has been the monoamine hypothesis.
Annotation:
[P4] Technical term *monoamine hypothesis* moved to sentence end, where new technical terms belong when first introduced. The familiar framing (*for over three decades*) now anchors the sentence's opening.clawhub install bookforge-prose-clarity-reviser