Skill

plain-english-rewrite

plain-english-rewrite · current version v2

Rewrite a technical or jargon-heavy answer (yours, or an existing document) into short, plain-English sentences while keeping every fact, name, number, file path, and command unchanged. Use when the user asks for something "in plain English", "simpler", "less technical", "like I'm five", "dumb it down", or asks for a plain-English summary/version of an answer or file.

27 downloads · published 2026-08-10

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skill plain-english-rewrite

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Version history

Version	Published	Status
v2	2026-08-10	published
v1	2026-08-10	published

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---
name: plain-english-rewrite
description: Rewrite a technical or jargon-heavy answer (yours, or an existing document) into short, plain-English sentences while keeping every fact, name, number, file path, and command unchanged. Use when the user asks for something "in plain English", "simpler", "less technical", "like I'm five", "dumb it down", or asks for a plain-English summary/version of an answer or file.
---

# Plain English Rewrite

Adapted from [claudish-to-english](https://github.com/gvzdv/claudish-to-english), a Claude Code plugin that rewrote assistant messages by shelling out to a local Ollama model on every message. That machinery isn't needed here: you are the model, so do the rewrite yourself, directly, only when asked.

## When to use

Trigger phrases: "in plain English", "explain that simply", "less jargon", "like I'm five", "dumb it down", "plain-English summary/version".

Do **not** rewrite every answer automatically. Only rewrite when the user asks, or immediately confirms they want it after you offer.

## How to rewrite

1. Keep every fact, name, number, file path, and command **exactly as given** — simplify sentence structure and vocabulary only, never drop or soften information.
2. Use short sentences and everyday words. Avoid jargon; if a technical term is unavoidable, briefly say what it means in context.
3. Leave fenced code blocks, commands, and file paths unchanged — never "simplify" code.
4. If the original is already short and simple (roughly under 200 characters of prose, code excluded), say so instead of manufacturing a rewrite with nothing to simplify.
5. Output only the rewritten text — no preamble like "Here's a simpler version:" unless the user is seeing it alongside the original (see below).

## Rewriting your own last answer

When the user asks to simplify what you just said, rewrite that message's prose and present it clearly separated from the original, e.g. under a short `In plain English:` heading, so the user can tell which is which.

## Rewriting an existing file

When asked for a plain-English version of a file on disk (e.g. a README or a spec):

1. Read the file. If it has YAML frontmatter (`---` delimited block at the top), split it off and keep it byte-for-byte unchanged.
2. Rewrite the body following the rules above; leave frontmatter, code blocks, and tables of literal values untouched.
3. Ask where to save the result before writing, unless the user already said (e.g. "save it as `NAME.plain.md` next to the original," or "overwrite it").