skills/series-continuity-writer/references/anti-patterns.md

# Anti-Patterns

Repair these only when they weaken the voice or clarity. Do not sterilize natural speech.

## High-risk writing residue

- repeated `not X, but Y` reframes
- every paragraph trying to sound quotable
- generic thought-leadership endings
- vague authority references instead of a specific source or claim
- decorative English that the speaker would not say naturally
- headings that read like a textbook taxonomy
- explaining the same conclusion in Arabic and English without a new function
- repeating the CTA at the top and bottom
- fake certainty around estimates, attribution, causal claims, or model output
- overusing “important point”, “big difference”, “this changes everything”, and similar interpretive instructions
- perfectly uniform paragraph length or repeated three-part symmetry
- stacking rhetorical questions when one concrete example would do more work
- forced slang or intentional errors added merely to look human
- overusing reader check-ins such as “focus with me” or “are you lost?”

## Keep these when they are real

- useful repetition carrying timing or emphasis
- side comments
- quick corrections
- code-switching that belongs to the work
- uneven paragraph lengths
- occasional fragments
- understated self-deprecation

## Evidence discipline

Separate:

- what the data recorded
- what the analysis suggests
- what can be causally supported
- what remains uncertain

Never upgrade descriptive attribution into causal proof just because the sentence sounds stronger.