gh-policyengine-policyengine-claude-data-science/skills/policyengine-writing-skill/SKILL.md

---
name: policyengine-writing
description: PolicyEngine writing style for blog posts, documentation, PR descriptions, and research reports - emphasizing active voice, quantitative precision, and neutral tone
---

# PolicyEngine Writing Skill

Use this skill when writing blog posts, documentation, PR descriptions, research reports, or any public-facing PolicyEngine content.

## When to Use This Skill

- Writing blog posts about policy analysis
- Creating PR descriptions
- Drafting documentation
- Writing research reports
- Composing social media posts
- Creating newsletters
- Writing README files

## Core Principles

PolicyEngine's writing emphasizes clarity, precision, and objectivity.

1. **Active voice** - Prefer active constructions over passive
2. **Direct and quantitative** - Use specific numbers, avoid vague adjectives/adverbs
3. **Sentence case** - Use sentence case for headings, not title case
4. **Neutral tone** - Describe what policies do, not whether they're good or bad
5. **Precise language** - Choose exact verbs over vague modifiers

## Active Voice

Active voice makes writing clearer and more direct.

**✅ Correct (Active):**
```
Harris proposes expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit
The reform reduces poverty by 3.2%
PolicyEngine projects higher costs than other organizations
We estimate the ten-year costs
The bill lowers the state's top income tax rate
Montana raises the EITC from 10% to 20%
```

**❌ Wrong (Passive):**
```
The Earned Income Tax Credit is proposed to be expanded by Harris
Poverty is reduced by 3.2% by the reform
Higher costs are projected by PolicyEngine
The ten-year costs are estimated
The state's top income tax rate is lowered by the bill
The EITC is raised from 10% to 20% by Montana
```

## Quantitative and Precise

Replace vague modifiers with specific numbers and measurements.

**✅ Correct (Quantitative):**
```
Costs the state $245 million
Benefits 77% of Montana residents
Lowers the Supplemental Poverty Measure by 0.8%
Raises net income by $252 in 2026
The reform affects 14.3 million households
Hours worked falls by 0.27%, or 411,000 full-time equivalent jobs
The top decile receives an average benefit of $1,033
PolicyEngine projects costs 40% higher than the Tax Foundation
```

**❌ Wrong (Vague adjectives/adverbs):**
```
Significantly costs the state
Benefits most Montana residents
Greatly lowers poverty
Substantially raises net income
The reform affects many households
Hours worked falls considerably
High earners receive large benefits
PolicyEngine projects much higher costs
```

## Sentence Case for Headings

Use sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns) for all headings.

**✅ Correct (Sentence case):**
```
## The proposal
## Nationwide impacts
## Household impacts
## Statewide impacts 2026
## Case study: the End Child Poverty Act
## Key findings
```

**❌ Wrong (Title case):**
```
## The Proposal
## Nationwide Impacts
## Household Impacts
## Statewide Impacts 2026
## Case Study: The End Child Poverty Act
## Key Findings
```

## Neutral, Objective Tone

Describe what policies do without value judgments. Let readers draw their own conclusions from the data.

**✅ Correct (Neutral):**
```
The reform reduces poverty by 3.2% and raises inequality by 0.16%
Single filers with earnings between $8,000 and $37,000 see their net incomes increase
The tax changes raise the net income of 75.9% of residents
PolicyEngine projects higher costs than other organizations
The top income decile receives 42% of total benefits
```

**❌ Wrong (Value judgments):**
```
The reform successfully reduces poverty by 3.2% but unfortunately raises inequality
Low-income workers finally see their net incomes increase
The tax changes benefit most residents
PolicyEngine provides more accurate cost estimates
The wealthiest households receive a disproportionate share of benefits
```

## Precise Verbs Over Adverbs

Choose specific verbs instead of generic verbs modified by adverbs.

**✅ Correct (Precise verbs):**
```
The bill lowers the top rate from 5.9% to 5.4%
The policy raises the maximum credit from $632 to $1,774
The reform increases the phase-in rate from 7.65% to 15.3%
This doubles Montana's EITC from 10% to 20%
The change eliminates the age cap
```

**❌ Wrong (Vague verbs + adverbs):**
```
The bill significantly changes the top rate
The policy substantially increases the maximum credit
The reform greatly boosts the phase-in rate
This dramatically expands Montana's EITC
The change completely removes the age cap
```

## Concrete Examples

Always include specific household examples with precise numbers.

**✅ Correct:**
```
For a single adult with no children and $10,000 of earnings, the tax provisions
increase their net income by $69 in 2026 and $68 in 2027, solely from the
doubled EITC match.

A single parent of two kids with an annual income of $50,000 will see a $252
increase to their net income: $179 from the expanded EITC, and $73 from the
lower bracket threshold.

A married couple with no dependents and $200,000 of earnings will see their
liability drop by $1,306 in 2027.
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
Low-income workers see modest increases to their net income from the
expanded EITC.

Families with children benefit substantially from the tax changes.

High earners also see significant reductions in their tax liability.
```

## Tables and Data

Use tables liberally to present data clearly. Always include units and context.

**Example 1: Tax parameters over time**

| Year | Phase-in rate | Max credit | Phase-out start | Phase-out rate |
| ---- | ------------- | ---------- | --------------- | -------------- |
| 2025 | 15.3%         | $1,774     | $13,706         | 15.3%          |
| 2026 | 15.3%         | $1,815     | $14,022         | 15.3%          |
| 2027 | 15.3%         | $1,852     | $14,306         | 15.3%          |

**Example 2: Household impacts**

| Household composition          | 2026 net income change | 2027 net income change |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Single, no children, $10,000   | $66                    | $68                    |
| Single, two children, $50,000  | $252                   | $266                   |
| Married, no children, $200,000 | $853                   | $1,306                 |

**Example 3: Ten-year costs**

| Year    | Federal cost ($ billions) |
| ------- | ------------------------- |
| 2025    | 14.3                      |
| 2026    | 14.4                      |
| 2027    | 14.7                      |
| 2025-34 | 143.7                     |

## Avoid Superlatives

Replace superlative claims with specific comparisons.

**✅ Correct:**
```
PolicyEngine projects costs 40% higher than the Tax Foundation
The top decile receives an average benefit of $1,033
The reform reduces child poverty by 3.2 percentage points
This represents Montana's largest income tax cut since 2021
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
PolicyEngine provides the most accurate cost projections
The wealthiest households receive massive benefits
The reform dramatically slashes child poverty
This is Montana's largest income tax cut in history
```

## Structure and Organization

Follow a clear hierarchical structure with key findings up front.

**Standard blog post structure:**

```markdown
# Title (H1)

Opening paragraph states what happened and when, with a link to PolicyEngine.

Key results in [year]:
- Cost: $245 million
- Benefits: 77% of residents
- Poverty impact: Reduces SPM by 0.8%
- Inequality impact: Raises Gini by 0.16%

## The proposal (H2)

Detailed description of the policy changes, often with a table showing
the specific parameter values.

## Household impacts (H2)

Specific examples for representative household types.

### Example 1: Single filer (H3)
Detailed calculation...

### Example 2: Family with children (H3)
Detailed calculation...

## Statewide impacts (H2)

Population-level analysis with charts and tables.

### Budgetary impact (H3)
Cost/revenue estimates...

### Distributional impact (H3)
Winners/losers by income decile...

### Poverty and inequality (H3)
Impact on poverty rates and inequality measures...

## Methodology (H2)

Explanation of data sources, modeling approach, and caveats.
```

## Common Patterns

### Opening Paragraphs

State the facts directly with dates, actors, and actions:

```
[On April 28, 2025], Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) signed House Bill 337,
a bill that amends Montana's individual income tax code.

Vice President Harris proposes expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
for filers without qualifying dependents.

In her economic plan, Harris proposes to restore the expanded Earned Income
Tax Credit for workers without children to its level under the American
Rescue Plan Act in 2021.
```

### Key Findings Format

Lead with bullet points of quantitative results:

```
Key results in 2027:
- Costs the state $245 million
- Benefits 77% of Montana residents
- Lowers the Supplemental Poverty Measure by 0.8%
- Raises the Gini index by 0.16%
```

### Methodological Transparency

Always specify the model, version, and assumptions:

```
Based on static microsimulation modeling with PolicyEngine US (version 1.103.0),
we project the following economic impacts for 2025.

Assuming no behavioral responses, we project that the EITC expansion will cost
the federal government $14.3 billion in 2025.

Incorporating elasticities of labor supply used by the Congressional Budget Office
increases the reform's cost.

Over the ten-year budget window, this amounts to $143.7 billion.
```

### Household Examples

Always include the household composition, income, and specific dollar impacts:

```
For a single adult with no children and $10,000 of earnings, the tax provisions
increase their net income by $69 in 2026 and $68 in 2027.

A single parent of two kids with an annual income of $50,000 will see a $252
increase to their net income due to House Bill 337: $179 from the expanded EITC,
and $73 from the lower bracket threshold.
```

## Examples in Context

### Blog Post Opening

**✅ Correct:**
```
On April 28, 2025, Governor Gianforte signed House Bill 337, which lowers
Montana's top income tax rate from 5.9% to 5.4% and doubles the state EITC
from 10% to 20% of the federal credit.

Key results in 2027:
- Costs the state $245 million
- Benefits 77% of Montana residents
- Lowers the Supplemental Poverty Measure by 0.8%
- Raises the Gini index by 0.16%

Use PolicyEngine to view the full results or calculate the effect on your
household.
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
On April 28, 2025, Governor Gianforte made history by signing an amazing new
tax cut bill that will dramatically help Montana families. House Bill 337
significantly reduces tax rates and greatly expands the EITC.

This groundbreaking reform will:
- Cost the state money
- Help most residents
- Reduce poverty substantially
- Impact inequality

Check out PolicyEngine to see how much you could save!
```

### PR Description

**✅ Correct:**
```
## Summary

This PR adds Claude Code plugin configuration to enable automated installation
of agents and skills for PolicyEngine development.

## Changes

- Add plugin auto-install configuration in .claude/settings.json
- Configure auto-install of country-models plugin from PolicyEngine/policyengine-claude

## Benefits

- Access to 15 specialized agents
- 3 slash commands (/encode-policy, /review-pr, /fix-pr)
- 2 skills (policyengine-us-skill, policyengine-standards-skill)

## Testing

After merging, team members trust the repo and the plugin auto-installs.
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
## Summary

This amazing PR adds incredible new Claude Code plugin support that will
revolutionize PolicyEngine development!

## Changes

- Adds some configuration files
- Sets up plugins and stuff

## Benefits

- Gets you lots of cool new features
- Makes development much easier
- Provides great new tools

## Testing

Should work great once merged!
```

### Documentation

**✅ Correct:**
```
## Installation

Install PolicyEngine-US from PyPI:

```bash
pip install policyengine-us
```

This installs version 1.103.0 or later, which includes support for 2025
tax parameters.
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
## Installation

Simply install PolicyEngine-US:

```bash
pip install policyengine-us
```

This will install the latest version with all the newest features!
```

## Special Cases

### Comparisons to Other Organizations

State facts neutrally without claiming superiority:

**✅ Correct:**
```
PolicyEngine projects higher costs than other organizations when considering
behavioral responses.

| Organization              | Cost, 2025-2034 ($ billions) |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| PolicyEngine (static)     | 144                          |
| PolicyEngine (dynamic)    | 201                          |
| Tax Foundation            | 157                          |
| Penn Wharton Budget Model | 135                          |
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
PolicyEngine provides more accurate estimates than other organizations.

Unlike other models that underestimate costs, PolicyEngine correctly accounts
for behavioral responses to project a more realistic $201 billion cost.
```

### Discussing Limitations

Acknowledge limitations directly without hedging:

**✅ Correct:**
```
## Caveats

The Current Population Survey has several limitations for tax microsimulation:

- Truncates high incomes for privacy, underestimating tax impacts on high earners
- Underestimates benefit receipt compared to administrative totals
- Reflects 2020 data with 2025 policy parameters
- Lacks detail for specific income types (assumes all capital gains are long-term)
```

**❌ Wrong:**
```
## Caveats

While our model is highly sophisticated, like all models it has some potential
limitations that users should be aware of:

- The data might not perfectly capture high incomes
- Benefits may be slightly underestimated
- We do our best to extrapolate older data to current years
```

## Writing Checklist

Before publishing, verify:

- [ ] Use active voice throughout
- [ ] Include specific numbers for all claims
- [ ] Use sentence case for all headings
- [ ] Maintain neutral, objective tone
- [ ] Choose precise verbs over vague adverbs
- [ ] Include concrete household examples
- [ ] Present data in tables
- [ ] Avoid all superlatives
- [ ] Structure with clear hierarchy
- [ ] Open with key quantitative findings
- [ ] Specify model version and assumptions
- [ ] Link to PolicyEngine when relevant
- [ ] Acknowledge limitations directly

## Resources

- **Example posts**: See `policyengine-app/src/posts/articles/` for reference implementations
- **PolicyEngine app**: https://policyengine.org for linking to analyses
- **Microsimulation docs**: https://policyengine.org/us/docs for methodology details