email-writing

Email Writing Guide for TextForge

Use this skill whenever composing an email draft via TextForge. It covers writing principles, formatting rules, AI pattern detection, and a pre-send checklist. Every draft created with mcp__textforge__create_draft should follow these guidelines.

Stop and Ask Before Drafting

If the inbound email contains open questions or requests for the sender's opinion, do NOT draft a reply until you have that input.

Common triggers:

• "I'd love to hear your thoughts on X"
• "What do you think about Y?"
• "Do you have any suggestions for Z?"

Stop, surface the question to the user, and wait for their answer before composing. Do not fill in generic responses. The whole point of the reply is to deliver the sender's actual perspective.

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Core Writing Principles

1. Be direct and confident

Don't hedge or apologize unnecessarily.

Avoid	Use instead
"If you don't mind my asking..."	"Can you share..." or just ask directly
"I was just wondering if perhaps..."	"Would you..." or "Can you..."
"even if it's just a quick note"	Remove - don't minimize the ask
"I wanted to circle back on..."	State the topic directly

Write with confidence. Don't apologize for asking legitimate business questions.

2. Use specific, direct language

Call things what they are.

Vague	Specific
"the non-renewal"	"your decision to cancel" or "canceling [Product]"
"your team"	"[Company Name] team" - use the actual company name
"We're always looking to improve"	Skip it - get to the point
"the project"	Name the actual project or product

Specific language is clearer and more professional than generic phrases.

3. Frame questions with clear structure

Give recipients a mental framework for responding. Present a clear binary or structured choice rather than listing many possibilities.

Bad - listing multiple possibilities:

"Was there something specific that didn't work? Features we were missing? Response times? Or was this more of a budget call?"

Good - clear binary framework:

"Are you and the team still confident with [Product] to the point where you don't need support? Or were there issues with the plan itself?"

Ask direct questions, don't imply them:

Passive	Direct
"You're welcome to join if you'd like"	"Would you like to join?"
"Feel free to let me know if that works"	"Does that time work for you?"
"We can discuss this further if needed"	"Should we schedule a call to discuss?"

4. Write business-focused closings

Connect the ask to business value or the relationship.

Weak	Strong
"Your feedback would be really valuable"	"We'd love to learn what we could have done to keep your business"
"Let me know your thoughts"	"Please let me know - we'd love to learn from this"
"I'd appreciate any feedback"	"Your perspective would help us improve [specific thing]"

5. Remove filler and get to the point

Cut unnecessary context and explanations.

Over-explained:

"I wanted to reach out directly about the decision. I know the decision was communicated already, but I'm hoping to get your perspective as the technical lead on the project."

Concise:

"I wanted to reach out about [Company]'s decision to cancel [Product]. I'm hoping to get your perspective."

Remove words that don't add meaning.

6. Address recipients directly

If someone is CC'd on the email, address them by name.

Don't	Do
"Please pass along our thanks to Tom" (when Tom is CC'd)	"Hi Sarah and Tom," (address both in greeting)
Ignore CC'd recipients	Speak to them directly in the body

If they can read the email, talk to them directly.

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Technical Formatting Rules

Line breaks and spacing

• Use <br> for line breaks, not <p> tags - <p> creates double-spacing in email clients
• Use <br><br> between paragraphs for natural spacing
• Set bodyFormat: "Html" unless the user explicitly wants Markdown

No em dashes

• Never use em dashes - they are an immediate tell that an LLM wrote the email
• Use commas, periods, or rewrite the sentence instead
• Regular hyphens (-) for compound words are fine

No email signatures

• Do NOT include signatures in draft bodies
• TextForge automatically appends the user's configured signature
• End with "Thanks," or "Best," and the sender's name

Curly quotes

• Use straight quotes ("...") not curly/smart quotes
• Some email clients render curly quotes incorrectly
• Use & for ampersands and $ for dollar signs in HTML bodies

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AI Pattern Detection - Mandatory Pre-Send Audit

Before calling mcp__textforge__create_draft, audit the email body for these AI writing tells. This is not optional. AI-sounding emails undermine trust with recipients.

This audit is derived from patterns documented in Wikipedia: Signs of AI writing, adapted specifically for email.

Patterns to catch and fix

1. Significance inflation - Puffing up importance with words like "pivotal", "testament", "vital role", "evolving landscape". Emails don't need grand framing. Just state the point.

2. Copula avoidance - Replacing "is" with "serves as", "stands as", "functions as", "represents". Use "is". It's fine.

3. Negative parallelisms - "It's not just about X, it's about Y." Just say what it's about.

4. Rule of three - Forcing ideas into groups of three ("reliable, scalable, and maintainable"). If you only need to say two things, say two things.

5. Synonym cycling - Varying words for no reason within the same email ("help" then "assist" then "support"). Pick one word and stick with it.

6. Sycophantic openers - "Great question!", "Absolutely!", "That's an excellent point." Remove. Just answer.

7. Filler phrases - "In order to" (use "to"), "due to the fact that" (use "because"), "at this point in time" (use "now"), "it is important to note that" (just state it).

8. Excessive hedging - "It could potentially possibly be argued that this might..." Just say what you mean.

9. Generic conclusions - "The future looks bright", "exciting times ahead", "we look forward to continuing this journey." End with a specific next step or just end.

10. Chatbot artifacts - "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if you'd like me to expand on any section", "Here is a summary of..." These are conversation artifacts, not email prose.

11. Em dashes - Already covered in formatting rules, but worth flagging again. Em dashes in emails are the single most recognizable LLM tell.

12. Boldface overuse - Don't bold every key term. Use bold sparingly for genuine emphasis, not for every acronym or product name.

The audit process

After writing the email body but before creating the draft:

1. Re-read the body scanning for the 12 patterns above
2. Fix every instance found
3. Read the body out loud - does it sound like something a person would actually write?
4. If anything sounds "assembled" rather than "written", rewrite it

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Follow-Up Timing Framework

When scheduling follow-up emails or advising on timing:

Situation	Follow-up in	Notes
General check-in	7 days	Standard cadence
Waiting on customer decision	5-7 days	Give them time but stay engaged
Urgent / time-sensitive	3-5 days	Renewals expiring, trials ending
Waiting on PO / payment	7-14 days	Finance processes take time
They said "next week"	7-10 days	Give them the week plus buffer
They said "end of month"	1st of next month	Follow up when they said
Budget approval pending	10-14 days	Corporate processes are slow

If unsure about timing, ask the user. Don't guess.

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Anti-Pattern Reference

Anti-pattern	Why it's bad	Fix
"I hope this email finds you well"	Generic filler	Get directly to the point
"I've lost track of our conversation"	Unprofessional	Research thread history first using search_threads_by_contact or get_thread
Overly formal corporate language	Sounds like a template	Write like a person
Apologizing for emailing	Undermines confidence	Just state your purpose
Ending with just "Let me know"	Too vague	Specific call to action
"Don't hesitate to reach out"	Empty closing filler	End with "Thanks" and move on
Offering obvious options	Pads without information	Trust that the recipient is competent
"Please flag if you need more time"	Zero-value filler - states the obvious	Omit it. They know they can reach out.

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Complete Email Template

Hi [First Name],<br><br>

[Direct opening with clear context - one sentence]<br><br>

[Main question or request with clear framework - 1-2 sentences]<br><br>

[Business-focused closing that explains why you're asking]<br><br>

Thanks,<br>
[Your Name]

Example:

Hi Tom,<br><br>

I wanted to reach out directly about Acme's decision to cancel their Pro plan. I know Lisa communicated the decision, but I'm hoping to get your perspective.<br><br>

Are you and the Acme team still happy with the product to the point where you don't need the Pro features? Or were there issues with the plan itself?<br><br>

Please let me know - we'd love to learn what we could have done to keep your business.<br><br>

Thanks,<br>
Sarah

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Pre-Send Checklist

Before calling mcp__textforge__create_draft:

• Subject line is specific and includes company/product name
• Greeting addresses all recipients by name (including CC'd)
• Opening is direct - no hedging or over-explaining
• Questions have clear structure - binary or framework, not a list of possibilities
• Closing is business-focused
• No em dashes anywhere
• Used <br><br> for paragraph spacing, not <p> tags
• No email signature in body
• Removed all filler words and phrases
• Used specific language - company names, product names, "cancel" not "non-renewal"
• AI pattern audit completed - scanned for all 12 patterns, fixed every instance
• Read the email out loud - sounds like a person wrote it

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Reply-All Guidelines

Default to reply-all unless there's a specific reason to narrow the conversation.

Reply-all when:

• Original email had multiple recipients
• CC'd parties need to stay in the loop
• All parties are relevant to the conversation

Don't reply-all when:

• Reaching out 1:1 for someone's specific perspective
• Following up privately after a group discussion
• Recipient explicitly asked to take it offline

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Subject Line Best Practices

Be specific and actionable:

Generic	Specific
"Checking In"	"[Company] Pro Plan Renewal - April 2026"
"Quick Question"	"[Company] API Integration - Need Your Input"
"Following Up"	"[Company] License Decision - Your Feedback?"

Subject lines should tell the recipient exactly what the email is about.

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Integration with TextForge Workflow

This skill works alongside the core textforge skill:

1. Get context - Use search_threads_by_contact, search_messages, or get_thread to understand the conversation
2. Write the email following the principles in this skill
3. Run the AI pattern audit (section above) on the body text
4. Create the draft via mcp__textforge__create_draft
5. Tell the user a draft is queued for their review - never say "sent"

Reference: Wikipedia: Signs of AI writing - CC BY-SA 4.0