Non Autoregressive Writing Pass

Non-Autoregressive Writing Pass

Revise the completed draft with access to the whole argument. In this skill, "non-autoregressive" describes the editing pass: do not accept a sentence merely because it follows smoothly from the text before it. Judge each opening and transition against the material that comes after it as well.

Wait Until The Draft Is Stable

Run this pass after the claims, evidence, paragraph order, and broad cadence are settled. It is not a drafting outline or a substitute for structural revision.

Read the complete artifact first. Identify its central claim, the role of each section, and the point each paragraph eventually establishes. Preserve facts, citations, qualifications, notation, examples, and deliberate voice.

Read The Title And Paragraph-Head Spine

Extract the title, subtitle, every section and subsection heading, the abstract opening, and the first one or two sentences of every paragraph. Keep the headings in place and read this sequence without the paragraph bodies. Treat the first two sentences as one paragraph head when the first supplies context that the second turns into a claim.

For the title, subtitle, and headings, ask:

• Does the title name the subject or tension that actually organizes the

finished work?

• Does the subtitle sharpen that account instead of repeating it or preserving

an earlier emphasis?

• Does each heading accurately frame the material beneath it without sounding

like a slogan, instruction, interface label, or generic category?

For each abstract or paragraph head, ask:

• Does it state or naturally approach the point that the paragraph actually

develops?

• Does it rely on a vague pointer such as "This," "The same," or "These

issues" when the referent should be named?

• Does it repeat the heading, announce the document, or begin with a generic

truth that could introduce many subjects?

• Does it begin by rejecting an alternative before stating the substantive

claim?

• Does it inherit the previous paragraph's syntax or vocabulary merely because

that wording was locally available?

• Does the abstract begin with the concrete problem or tension that organizes

the work, rather than a weak generality?

A topic sentence need not contain the paragraph's whole conclusion. It may bridge from the previous paragraph, establish necessary context, or create a natural opening before the main claim arrives in the second sentence. Revise the first two sentences together when forcing everything into the first would make the prose stiff.

When the paragraph's main claim is positive, state it before explaining what it is not. An opening such as "The difference is not X. The difference appears in Y" makes the reader retain a rejected frame before reaching the point. State Y first, then mention X only if the contrast still matters. Keep a negative opening when an absence, failure, or limitation is itself the finding or claim boundary.

Inspect Every Paragraph Boundary

First place each title, subtitle, or heading beside the opening it frames. Then place the final sentence of each paragraph beside the first two sentences of the next. Name their relation: continuation, cause, consequence, contrast, qualification, example, change of scale, or change of question.

Revise a boundary when:

• the title, subtitle, or heading promises a subject that the opening does not

develop;

• the ending merely recaps the paragraph or appends a transition whose real

purpose belongs in the next opening;

• the next paragraph restarts the subject as though no prior reasoning

occurred;

• a pronoun or generic transition hides the relation;
• both sentences repeat the same conclusion;
• the handoff implies a stronger causal or evidential relation than the draft

supports; or

• a section break interrupts a thought that should close before the heading.

Revise the ending, the next opening, or both. Prefer lexical continuity and a clear logical relation to formulaic connectors such as "Additionally," "However," or "With this in mind." Do not add a transition when adjacency already makes the relation clear.

Let Endings Finish Their Own Reasoning

A paragraph's last sentence should first complete that paragraph. It may end on a consequence, boundary, unresolved tension, or concrete fact. It can also prepare the next paragraph, but it should not become a trailer for the document.

When the next paragraph changes direction, let its opening carry the turn. When the next paragraph elaborates the same idea, a repeated term may provide enough continuity. Do not manufacture a smooth handoff by weakening a meaningful break.

Run The Final Read

1. Read the revised title-and-paragraph-head spine again. Confirm that its

titles, headings, and openings trace the argument without sounding like an outline.

1. Read every ending-to-opening pair at speaking pace.
2. Read the full artifact in order and restore any deliberate abruptness or

delayed reveal that the isolated checks flattened.

1. Compare with the source and confirm that the pass changed no claim,

uncertainty, evidence, or scope.

Invocation Boundary

When another writing skill invokes this pass, return only the revised prose or the requested boundary findings. Do not invoke Humanizer, general-writing, writing-cadence, better-usage, or academic-voice; the calling skill owns the larger prose pipeline.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: msimchowitz
• Source: msimchowitz/writing-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.