grammar_refresh v1.0.0

name: grammar_refresh description: Grammar refresher for rusty writers. Applies the twenty error patterns behind most writing mistakes, runs a self-editing pass over your own text, and settles punctuation questions with clear rules. Triggers when someone asks to brush up on grammar, edit or proofread their own writing, fix recurring errors, or get punctuation right.

Purpose

Turn rough or uncertain writing into clean, correct prose. The skill gives the agent two things: a compact set of twenty grammar and punctuation rules that cover the mistakes writers actually make, and a repeatable self-editing pass that catches what spellcheck misses. Default is American English.

Workflow

1. Read the draft straight through. Get the meaning first. Do not edit while reading for meaning.
2. Run the triage helper. python3 bin/grammar_triage.py <draft.txt> flags repeated words, commonly confused words, passive constructions, there-is openers, and long sentences. Treat every flag as "review this," never as "this is wrong."
3. Check the twenty rules. Open references/grammar-rules.md and walk the draft against them. Focus first on the rules that match the triage flags and on your known weak spots.
4. Do the self-editing pass.

• Take a break between writing and editing if you can. Fresh eyes catch more.
• Read the draft aloud, slowly. Your ear catches fragments, run-ons, and tense shifts your eye skips.
• Read it a second time looking only at punctuation. For every comma, name the rule that puts it there (see rules 5, 6, 7). A comma you cannot justify probably does not belong.
• Check every pronoun: it, this, that, which, they. Each one needs a clear noun it points to (rule 9).
• Search for your personal repeat offenders (a word pair you mix up, a filler phrase) and fix each occurrence.

1. Verify and report. Re-read the final version once for flow. Return the result per the Output Contract.

Output Contract

Return one of these, whichever the user asked for:

• Corrected text: the cleaned draft, followed by a short list of what changed and which rule drove each change.
• Marked review: for each problem, the original sentence, the issue in plain words, and the fix. Grouped by rule, most serious first.

Either way, include a one-line note on which checks ran (triage helper, read-aloud, comma audit) and flag anything that was a style choice rather than a rule.

Operating Rules

1. Every rule in this skill traces back to a cited source in references/grammar-rules.md. Never invent a rule, a number, or a quote. If you cannot verify a claim, cut it or label it as opinion.
2. Distinguish rules from style. Split infinitives and the serial (Oxford) comma are style choices: note which way you went and why, do not present either as law.
3. American English spelling and punctuation by default (periods and commas inside quotation marks). Switch only if asked.
4. Plain language in all feedback. Say what is wrong and how to fix it in one breath, the way a good editor would.
5. Do not rewrite the user's voice. Fix grammar, punctuation, and clarity. Leave their word choices, rhythm, and personality alone unless something is genuinely unclear.