iso-24495-skill README

The project's README from github.com/danyuchn/iso-24495-skill. As one markdown file: README.md.

ISO 24495 Skill — Plain Language for English and Traditional Chinese

A Claude Code skill that rewrites text into plain language per ISO 24495-1:2023 — the international standard that defines plain language by reader outcome: the intended readers can find what they need, understand it on first reading, and use it.

Two things make this skill different from a one-line "write plainly" prompt:

  1. It implements the standard's actual structure — reader-first content selection (relevant), document structure (findable), wording (understandable), and actionability (usable) — not just shorter sentences.
  2. It ships a real Traditional Chinese technique layer（繁體中文層）. ISO 24495-1 is explicitly language-independent, but as of this release the official translation list contains no East Asian language at all. The Chinese layer here is an original implementation of the four principles for Chinese — targeting the problems Chinese text actually has（歐化長句、公文腔、成語堆疊、中英夾雜、 被字句濫用）, not a translation of the English rules.

Before / After

Before After
"It is expected that the reimbursement form should be completed and submitted in a timely manner in order for processing to be initiated." "Submit your reimbursement form by the 25th. We start processing it the day we receive it."
「相關費用之核銷單據應儘速填妥並繳交，俾利後續作業之進行。」 「請在每月 25 日前把核銷單交給財務部的王小姐。我們收到當天就開始處理。」
"The team will make a determination as to whether an implementation of the proposed solution may potentially be feasible in some circumstances." "The team will decide whether the proposed solution is feasible."
「請先 review 這份 proposal 的 scope，確認 stakeholder 的 alignment 沒問題之後，我們再 kick off 這個 project。」 「請先看過這份提案的範圍，確認相關的人都同意了，我們再開始做。」

More pairs, each naming the principle applied: examples/before-after-en.md · examples/before-after-zh.md.

What This Skill Does

  1. Identifies the intended reader and purpose — the standard's first principle requires it, and every cut/keep decision follows from it.
  2. Detects the text language and loads the matching technique layer: references/english-techniques.md or references/chinese-techniques.md.
  3. Rewrites against the four principles (relevant → findable → understandable → usable) without dropping any fact, number, condition, or honest hedge. Where plainness would cost precision, it keeps the precision and flags the trade-off.
  4. Returns the rewritten text alone — no preamble, no lecture. Ask for "show the diff" and it returns a before/after table naming the principle behind each change instead.

Architecture: one shared layer, per-language technique layers

SKILL.md                          shared layer (English): principles, procedure, routing
references/principles.md          the four principles, interpretation, sources
references/english-techniques.md  English techniques (in English)
references/chinese-techniques.md  中文手法（以中文撰寫）

The shared layer is language-independent, mirroring the standard itself. Technique layers are written in their own language, because plain language techniques do not translate: English fights nominalization and passive voice; Chinese fights Europeanized long sentences and bureaucratic register. Adding another language = adding one technique file. Contributions welcome.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/danyuchn/iso-24495-skill ~/.claude/skills/iso-24495

Usage

Rewrite this in plain language
Apply ISO 24495 to this announcement
把這段改成淺白中文
幫我去掉這封信的公文腔

You get the rewritten text back and nothing else. Add "show the diff" / 「列出改了什麼」 to see the per-change principle table.

Scope

Built for: reader-facing text — reports, emails, documentation, UI strings, announcements, policies, explanations, and AI output that reads as dense or bureaucratic. Works on English and Traditional Chinese; the principles apply to other languages but no technique layer exists for them yet.

Not built for: creative or literary writing (voice is the point there), and not for agent-facing text where a machine must parse without ambiguity — that is controlled-language territory; use the companion skill asd-ste100-skill instead. Rule of thumb: reader is a person → this skill; reader is a machine or a maintenance manual → STE.

Relationship to the ISO Standard

This is an unofficial project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by ISO. The full ISO 24495-1 text is a licensed document and is not reproduced here. The skill is built from the standard's publicly documented principle framework (ISO's published abstract and scope, and the International Plain Language Federation's freely published materials). Every quantitative rule in the technique files is this project's own working proxy, not a clause of the standard. For certified conformance, buy and consult the standard.

Sources

License

MIT — see LICENSE. The license covers this repository's original text; it grants no rights to any ISO publication.

iso-24495-skill (danyuchn/iso-24495-skill)

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154 ·GitHub
Iso-24495-skill
这是什么？一个 Claude Code skill，按照 ISO 24495-1:2023 把你的文本改写成平实语言。这份标准从读者的结果来定义平实语言：读者能找到需要的信息、一遍就读懂、并且能用起来。它支持英文和繁体中文。
它是一个独立的软件，还是装在 Claude Code 里的东西？它装在 Claude Code 里——是一个安装后使用的 skill，不是有界面的独立软件。你在对话里把文本交给它，返回的只有改写后的文本，没有开场白和说教。
我怎么把它装好？把它作为 skill 安装到 Claude Code 里——README 的 Installation 部分写了具体步骤。装好之后，你只要把想改写的文本发给它就行。
除了 Claude Code 本身，还需要装别的东西吗？不需要。这个仓库只有 skill 说明加上一些 markdown 技巧文件，比如 references/english-techniques.md——没有任何依赖包，也没有构建步骤。
什么情况下它不适用？创意写作和文学作品不适合，因为文风本身就是重点；另外，如果文本是给机器（agent）无歧义地解析用的，也不适合——后一种情况作者推荐配套的受控语言 skill：asd-ste100-skill。
它适合处理什么样的文本？给读者看的文本：报告、邮件、文档、界面文案、公告、规章、说明——包括那些读起来又密又官腔的 AI 生成内容。
这是 ISO 官方工具吗？不是——它是非官方、无隶属关系的项目，基于标准公开的原则框架构建，其中技巧文件里的量化规则是项目自己设定的衡量标准，并不是 ISO 的条款。MIT 许可证只覆盖本仓库的原创内容，不涉及 ISO 出版物的任何权利。
它到底会对我的文本做什么，一步一步说？它先确定目标读者和写作目的——每个删留的判断都由此而来——然后识别语言，加载对应的技巧层，再按四条原则改写：内容对这位读者有用、结构便于浏览、用词一遍就能看懂、读完能照着行动。事实、数字、条件或诚实的保留说法都不会被删掉；如果为了平实会损失准确性，它会保留准确性并标出这个取舍。
一个平实语言 skill 为什么还要单独做一个繁体中文层？ISO 24495-1 本身不分语言，但官方的翻译列表里没有任何东亚语言。这个繁体中文层是原创实现，针对中文文本真实存在的问题——欧化长句、公文腔、成语堆砌、中英夹杂——并不是把英文规则翻译过来。
我让它“show the diff”会得到什么？得到的不是只有改写后的文本，还有一张前后对照表，标注每处修改依据的平实语言原则。
安装之前能看到改写示例吗？可以——README 开头就是两种语言的前后对照示例，examples/before-after-en.md 和 examples/before-after-zh.md 里还有更多示例，每个都标明了所用原则。
What are similar projects?iso-24495, simplified-technical-english, asd-ste100-skill, im-not-ai, Tech-Doc-Style-Chinese, ai-aug-edu, linkedin-agent-skill, human-writing
Which topics is it in?technical-writing, chinese-traditional, bilingual, text-processing, english, writing, claude-skill, claude-code-skill, accessibility, documentation, agent-skills, productivity
Creator
danyuchn
Size
<0.1 MB
Stars
154
Updated
CommitAug 13
Age
2mo
Commits · 90 Days