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11 changes: 11 additions & 0 deletions references/phrases.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -85,3 +85,14 @@ Announcing difficulty or significance rather than demonstrating it:
- "This is genuinely hard"
- "This is what leadership actually looks like"
- "This is what X actually looks like"

## Email Pleasantries
- "I hope this email finds you well"
- "I hope you're doing well"
- "I hope all is well"

## Letter Announcements
- "I am writing this letter..."
- "I am writing to inform you..."
- "Writing this to inform you..."
- "I wanted to reach out..."
45 changes: 45 additions & 0 deletions references/structures.md
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Expand Up @@ -69,3 +69,48 @@ These announce insight rather than deliver it.
|---------|---------|
| Absolute words (always, never, everyone, everybody, nobody) | False authority |
| AI-overused intensifiers (deeply, truly, fundamentally, inherently, simply, literally, inevitably) | Empty emphasis |

## Transformation Chains
Words that link end-to-end, creating false momentum.

| Pattern | Problem |
|---------|---------|
| "X became Y. Y became Z." | Artificial momentum |
| "Friction becomes flow. Flow becomes speed." | Chain linking |
| "Word slop became legibility. Legibility became clarity." | False progression |
| "Bottlenecks become opportunities. Opportunities become growth." | Manufactured causation |

**Instead:** State the outcome directly. "The process is now faster."

## Before/After Framing
False historical contrast to manufacture significance.

| Pattern | Problem |
|---------|---------|
| "Before X, it was Y." | Manufactured history |
| "Before AI, it was manual." | False transformation arc |
| "Before this framework, teams struggled." | Exaggerated contrast |

**Instead:** Describe the current state. Skip the manufactured history.

## Corrective Reveals
Dramatic "truth telling" structure that positions the writer as enlightened.

| Pattern | Problem |
|---------|---------|
| "You've been told X. Here's the truth: Y." | Theatrical setup |
| "You've been told a lie. Here is the actual truth." | False authority |
| "Everyone says X. They're wrong." | Contrarian posturing |

**Instead:** State Y directly without the theatrical setup.

## Forced Cohesion
Artificially linking separate ideas to sound profound.

| Pattern | Problem |
|---------|---------|
| "You can't have X without Y." | False interdependence |
| "You can't have one without the other." | Manufactured connection |
| "These two things are linked." | Vague binding |

**Instead:** If they're truly linked, the connection will be clear from context.