English Polish
Refine English writing for grammar, fluency, and native-level expression. Covers academic, business, creative, and casual registers.
Description
This skill provides systematic English writing improvement for non-native speakers and anyone looking to elevate their prose. It goes beyond basic grammar correction to address fluency, tone consistency, idiomatic usage, register appropriateness, and stylistic refinement across different writing contexts.
When to Use
- Polishing emails, essays, articles, or reports written in English
- Improving English cover letters, resumes, or LinkedIn profiles
- Refining academic papers written by non-native English speakers
- Making business communications sound more professional
- Elevating casual writing to sound more natural and fluent
Instructions
Review Process
Apply these four layers in order. Each layer builds on the previous.
Layer 1: Grammar & Mechanics
Fix objective errors first:
| Category | Common Issues |
|---|
| Subject-verb agreement | "The data show" (plural) vs "The data shows" (common but debated) |
| Article usage | a/an/the misuse, especially with uncountable nouns |
| Tense consistency | Unjustified tense shifts within paragraphs |
| Pronoun reference | Ambiguous "it", "this", "which" |
| Comma splices | Joining independent clauses with only a comma |
| Dangling modifiers | "Walking down the street, the trees were beautiful" |
| Parallelism | "I like reading, writing, and to code" → "reading, writing, and coding" |
Layer 2: Fluency & Flow
Address sentence-level smoothness:
Fixes to apply:
- Break sentences over 35 words into shorter ones
- Vary sentence length (mix short punchy sentences with longer analytical ones)
- Remove filler phrases: "in order to" → "to", "due to the fact that" → "because", "at this point in time" → "now"
- Replace weak verbs: "make a decision" → "decide", "give an explanation" → "explain", "have a discussion" → "discuss"
- Use transitional phrases between ideas: however, moreover, in contrast, as a result
- Ensure each paragraph flows logically from the previous one
Common Chinese-English Interference Patterns:
| Chinese Pattern | Literal Translation | Natural English |
|---|
| 虽然...但是 | Although... but... | Although... [no "but"] |
| 我觉得 | I feel/think | I believe/In my opinion |
| 毫无疑问 | Without doubt | Undoubtedly / Certainly |
| 越来越 | More and more | Increasingly / Growing |
| 进行研究 | Conduct research | Study / Investigate / Research |
Layer 3: Register & Tone
Match the writing level to the context:
Academic: Formal, precise, hedged
- Use: "Furthermore," "Nevertheless," "It has been demonstrated"
- Avoid: contractions, colloquialisms, rhetorical questions
Business: Professional, clear, action-oriented
- Use: "Please find attached," "I'd like to propose," "Looking forward to"
- Avoid: overly academic language, slang, emotional language
Casual/Conversational: Natural, relaxed, direct
- Use: contractions, phrasal verbs, idioms
- Avoid: overly formal constructions, unnecessary complexity
Creative: Engaging, varied, expressive
- Use: sensory language, metaphors, varied sentence structures
- Avoid: clichés, passive voice overuse
Layer 4: Idiomatic Enhancement
Replace literal or awkward phrasing with natural English:
| Awkward | Natural |
|---|
| "I'm very agree with you" | "I completely agree" |
| "It has a big impact to me" | "It had a huge impact on me" |
| "I have no idea about this" | "I'm not familiar with this" |
| "I will try my best to do it" | "I'll do my best" |
| "Every coin has two sides" | "There are two sides to every story" |
Output Format
Present corrections as:
## English Polish Results
**Overall Level**: [Advanced / Intermediate / Basic]
**Primary Issues**: [Grammar / Fluency / Tone / Idiom]
### Corrections
1. **[Category]** Original → Revised
Reason: Brief explanation
2. ...
### Refined Version
[Full polished text]
If the text is already near-native, say so — don't force unnecessary changes. Sometimes the original is fine and only minor tweaks are needed.
Examples
Before: "With the development of technology, more and more people begin to use AI tools to improve their work efficiency. Although AI has many advantages, but it also brings some problems."
After: "As technology advances, an increasing number of people are adopting AI tools to boost productivity. While AI offers significant advantages, it also presents new challenges."
Before: "I am writing this email to inform you that we need to have a meeting about the project. Please let me know your available time so that we can schedule it."
After: "I'd like to schedule a meeting to discuss the project. Could you share your availability this week?"
Before: "The reason why I chose this topic is because it is very interesting and nobody has researched it before."
After: "I chose this topic because it raises intriguing questions that remain underexplored in the literature."
Tips
- Read the polished text aloud — if it sounds awkward to say, it's not fluent enough
- Less is more: if a word doesn't add meaning, remove it
- Prefer active voice unless passive serves a specific purpose (academic method descriptions, diplomatic language)
- Keep the author's voice — don't rewrite their personality out of the text
- For academic writing, prefer "this study demonstrates" over "it is demonstrated by this study"
