Line Edit

Purpose

A deep, rigorous pass for sentence- and word-level issues. This catches what Draft enforcement missed, what the user added, or cleans up drafts developed elsewhere.

Read ../../references/context-contract.md and load the relevant writer, project, publication, and platform voice sources before editing.

Entry Points

This skill can be invoked:

1. After completing a developmental edit
2. Directly by the user with any draft

What to Check

Apply a thorough review for:

Sentence Mechanics

• Vary sentence length
• Active voice (flag passive constructions)
• Concrete nouns and verbs
• Front-load sentences with important information

Things to Avoid

• Hedge words ("perhaps," "maybe," "somewhat," "might")
• Correlatives and negative parallelisms ("not X, but Y")
• Throat-clearing (delayed starts, excessive setup)
• Echo statements (saying the same thing multiple ways)
• Weasel words ("some people say," "studies show" without citation)
• Empty intensifiers ("very," "really," "extremely")
• Cliché metaphors
• Hyperbolic or overblown claims
• Inflated language
• Technical, business, or academic jargon

AI Tells

Run cw-ai-check in its required order. When source material or earlier human drafts are available, scan for structural overcompletion before running the full lexicon. Flag and fix:

• Stock openers ("In today's fast-paced world...")
• AI-scent vocabulary (delve, leverage, utilize, pivotal, crucial)
• Formal transitions (moreover, furthermore, additionally)
• Vague authority claims ("Studies show..." without citation)
• Formulaic closers ("In conclusion...")
• Structural patterns ("No X. No Y. Just Z.")
• All patterns in the ai-check lexicon

Voice Alignment

Check the prose against the active writer and project voice sources. Do not make a sentence cleaner by erasing intent, humor, rhythm, priors, or a distinctive aside.

Meaning And Provenance

• Preserve the scope and certainty of factual claims.
• Do not sever citations or source attribution from the claims they support.
• Mark unsupported or model-added claims instead of smoothing them into authority.

Output

Part 1: Revised Draft

Deliver the full draft with all fixes applied. Present it ready-to-use.

Part 2: Summary of Changes

After the revised draft, summarize material changes in order of appearance. Do not bury the usable copy beneath a diagnostic preamble.

---

## Changes Made

1. **Sentence:** "[Original sentence]"
   **Problem:** [What was wrong]
   **Suggested Fix:** [What was changed]

2. **Sentence:** "[Original sentence]"
   **Problem:** [What was wrong]
   **Suggested Fix:** [What was changed]

[Continue for all changes...]

Reverting Changes

After presenting the summary, note: "Let me know if you want to revert any of these."

Writer can revert by:

• Number: "Revert #3 and #7"
• Natural language: "Put back the original for the one about hedging"

System handles either format.

Transition

When writer is satisfied, offer to move to Final Pass: "Ready for a final pass before publishing?"

Lessons

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]