# Style Guardrails

Use this file for mechanical and stylistic checks after the main rewrite. This file should refine prose and correctness, not override the main writing strategy in `SKILL.md`.

## Academic style

- prefer cautious, precise prose over conversational confidence
- avoid contractions
- avoid rhetorical questions in polished manuscript prose
- define abbreviations on first use
- use British spelling by default if the target is Nature-style prose
- keep figure legends concise; if aiming for Nature style, `<= 300` words is a good upper bound
- if aiming for Nature style, keep titles at `<= 75` characters including spaces

## Articles

Common checks:

- first mention of a singular count noun: `a` or `an`
- later mention of the same item: `the`
- generic plural: usually no article
- unique entity: often `the`
- abstract nouns used generally: often no article

Typical repair:

- bad: `The hypoxia induces ...`
- better: `Hypoxia induces ...`

## Numbers and units

- use numerals for measurements
- leave a space between the value and the unit: `25 cm`, `3.2 s`
- keep statistical symbols and mathematical notation consistent
- use en dashes for ranges where appropriate

Do not rewrite numbers into words unless the surrounding house style demands it.

## Academic register

- avoid spoken fillers and weak evaluative language
- use `we` only when it suits the discipline and document type
- keep nominalisation useful, not excessive
- keep the prose impersonal where appropriate, but do not force lifelessness

## Sentence and paragraph checks

- each sentence should express one main proposition
- dependent clauses must stay attached to a main clause
- do not join two independent clauses with only a comma
- each paragraph needs a controlling idea and supporting material
- avoid common structure errors such as sentence fragments introduced by `although` or `whereas`

## Overclaim checklist

Flag and soften:

- `prove`
- `conclusively`
- `unprecedented`
- `best`
- `superior`
- `first`

Safer replacements:

- `show`
- `suggest`
- `to our knowledge`
- `among the strongest`
- `in this cohort`

## Integrity rules

- do not invent references
- do not alter quantitative values unless correcting an obvious typo requested by the user
- do not upgrade association to causation
- do not imply broader generalisability than the study supports

## AI boundary

Use AI for language control, not for scientific fabrication.

Allowed:

- grammar and clarity
- restructuring and hedging
- translation with terminology checking

Not allowed:

- fabricated citations or datasets
- invented mechanisms presented as fact
- unsupported claims of novelty