logophile

Logophile

When to use

• The user asks to tighten wording, improve clarity, or compress text.
• Drafts feel verbose, repetitive, bloated, or meandering.
• Names, titles, labels, or headings feel weak.
• The text should be readable in under 30 seconds.

Motto (say once)

Precision through sophistication, brevity through vocabulary, clarity through structure.

Quick start

1. State intent in one sentence.
2. Classify text type, audience, and goal (clarity/brevity/polish).
3. Capture constraints (must-keep, must-not, tone, length, format).
4. Run the E-SDD loop (Prune → Elevate → Structure → Verify).
5. If reduction exceeds 20%, report word/character delta.

Output modes

• Fast pass: refined text only (plus delta if >20%).
• Annotated pass: refined text + key edits + delta (if >20%).

E-SDD core loop

Distill:

• State the intent in one sentence.

Densify:

• Prune: remove redundancy, hedges, filler.
• Elevate: swap generic verbs/adjectives for precise terms.

Shape:

• Structure: front-load the main action; keep sentences atomic.
• Parallelize: align repeated phrases and list items.

Verify:

• Preserve facts, numbers, and required tokens.
• Preserve code blocks/quotes/format.

Guardrails

• Don’t change intent.
• Don’t “upgrade” vocabulary at the cost of precision.
• Don’t compress away obligations, risks, or scope.

Constraint capture template

Constraints:
- Must keep:
- Must not change:
- Tone:
- Length target:
- Format requirements:
- Keywords to include:
- Keywords to avoid:

Common compressions

• “in order to” → “to”
• “due to the fact that” → “because”
• “is able to” → “can”
• “there is/are” → concrete subject + verb
• nominalization → verb (“conduct an analysis” → “analyze”)

Deliverable

Fast pass:

• Refined passage.
• Delta if reduction exceeds 20%.

Annotated pass:

• Refined passage.
• Key edits (lexical/structural).
• Delta if reduction exceeds 20%.

Reporting template

Type:
Audience:
Goal:
Edits:
- Lexical:
- Structural:
Delta:
- Words:
- Characters:
Semantic risks:
- ...

Examples

Before: You are asked to provide a comprehensive response that carefully explains all of the steps needed in order to troubleshoot the reported issue.

After: Explain the steps to troubleshoot the issue.