---
skill_id: lab-article-writing
version: 1.0.0
status: stable
author: Prompt Engines Lab
date: 2026-03-03
purpose: Write high-signal, evidence-driven technical articles with anti-slop enforcement and data visualization standards
applies_to:
- labnotes/articles/
- External technical writing
- Research summaries
type: writing-framework
---
# Lab Article Writing Skill
## Purpose
Write high-signal, evidence-driven articles for lab.promptengines.com that demonstrate technical competence, original thinking, and practical utility. Reject AI slop. Include meaningful visuals.
**For agents:** Incorporate this skill when drafting Lab Notes articles. Apply all hard rules. Check patterns before publishing. Use templates provided.
---
## Anti-Slop Foundation
### Patterns to Reject (Check Before Publishing)
| Pattern | Example | Fix |
|---------|---------|-----|
| **Denial of Commerce** | "This is not a consultancy" | State what it IS, not what it's not |
| **Symbiosis Sermons** | "The old categories dissolve" | Name specific categories and what replaced them |
| **Acceleration Invocation** | "We're in the Great Acceleration" | Quantify: "Cost dropped 10x in 18 months" |
| **Vibe Adjective Stacks** | "revolutionary, groundbreaking" | Replace with specific metric or mechanism |
| **Hedging Preambles** | "In today's rapidly evolving..." | Delete. Start with the claim. |
| **Agentic Self-Reference** | "As an AI assistant..." | Never. Just say the thing. |
### Hard Rules (Non-Negotiable)
1. **First sentence must contain noun + verb advancing understanding**
- ❌ "This article explores..."
- ✅ "OpenAI's API latency doubled between January and March 2024."
2. **No paragraph starts with "This is..." or "We are..."**
- ❌ "This is important because..."
- ✅ "The shift matters: three companies changed their pricing models within weeks."
3. **All claims must be falsifiable**
- ❌ "AI is changing everything"
- ✅ "47% of YC W24 batch pivoted to AI infrastructure (source: YC database)"
4. **Adjectives require justification**
- ❌ "Significant cost savings"
- ✅ "Cost savings: $0.12 → $0.004 per 1K tokens"
5. **Abstract nouns → concrete processes**
- ❌ "The system provides enhanced capabilities"
- ✅ "The system converts PDFs to structured JSON in 340ms median"
### High-Signal Markers (Use These)
| Low-Signal | High-Signal Replacement |
|------------|-------------------------|
| "We believe..." | "The evidence shows..." / "In 12 tests..." |
| "It is important to note..." | [Just note it without preamble] |
| "Game-changer" | "Reduced deployment time from 3 days to 4 hours" |
| "Revolutionary" | Specific mechanism + quantified impact |
| "Leverage" | "Used" / "Applied" / "Deployed" |
| "Synergy" | "Combined X and Y to produce Z" |
---
## Article Structure
### Required Elements
```
1. Hook (1 sentence, falsifiable claim)
2. Context (2-3 sentences, why this matters now)
3. Evidence/Data (chart, table, or specific numbers)
4. Analysis (what the data means)
5. Implication (what to do about it)
6. Source/Footnote section
```
### Title Formula
**Pattern:** `[Specific Metric]: [Unexpected Outcome] in [Timeframe]`
- ✅ "API Latency Doubled: What 10M Requests Reveal"
- ❌ "Understanding API Performance"
- ✅ "47% of YC W24 Pivoted to AI: A Database Analysis"
- ❌ "The AI Startup Landscape"
---
## Visual Guidelines
### When to Include Visuals
| Type | Use When | Format |
|------|----------|--------|
| **Line Chart** | Trends over time | Mermaid or static image |
| **Bar Chart** | Comparisons between categories | HTML/CSS or static |
| **Table** | Exact numbers, side-by-side comparison | Markdown/HTML |
| **Flowchart** | Process, architecture, decision trees | Mermaid |
| **Diagram** | System architecture, relationships | Mermaid or static |
| **Heatmap/Grid** | Matrix data, correlation | HTML/CSS |
### Data Requirements
- **Use actual data** — scrape it, measure it, or cite a source
- **Synthetic data OK** if explicitly footnoted: `*Synthetic — based on [methodology]*`
- **Never fabricate** specific company metrics without source
- **Include units** on every axis, every number
### Chart Styling (Lab Aesthetic)
```css
/* Colors */
--bg: #09090b
--fg: #fafafa
--accent: #F04D26
--border: #27272a
--surface: #18181b
/* Typography */
font: 'Inter' for labels, 'JetBrains Mono' for numbers
```
### Caption Format
Every visual must have a caption:
```markdown
**Figure 1:** [What it shows]. [Key takeaway in one sentence].
Source: [URL or methodology]
```
---
## Mermaid Diagram Standards
### Basic Flowchart
```markdown
```mermaid
flowchart LR
A[Input] --> B{Process}
B -->|Path 1| C[Output A]
B -->|Path 2| D[Output B]
style A fill:#18181b,stroke:#F04D26,stroke-width:2px,color:#fafafa
style B fill:#18181b,stroke:#52525b,stroke-width:1px,color:#fafafa
style C fill:#18181b,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#fafafa
style D fill:#18181b,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#fafafa
```
```
### Architecture Diagram
```markdown
```mermaid
graph TB
subgraph Client
A[Browser]
end
subgraph Edge
B[CDN]
end
subgraph Origin
C[App Server]
D[(Database)]
end
A -->|HTTPS| B
B -->|Cache Miss| C
C -->|Query| D
style A fill:#18181b,stroke:#F04D26
style B fill:#18181b,stroke:#eab308
style C fill:#18181b,stroke:#3b82f6
style D fill:#18181b,stroke:#22c55e
```
```
### Sequence Diagram
```markdown
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
participant U as User
participant A as App
participant B as Backend
participant D as Database
U->>A: Submit form
A->>B: POST /api/data
B->>D: INSERT
D-->>B: id: 123
B-->>A: 201 Created
A-->>U: Show success
```
```
---
## HTML Data Table Template
```html
| Provider |
Latency (ms) |
Cost ($/1M) |
Model |
| OpenAI |
340 |
$2.00 |
gpt-4o-mini |
| Anthropic |
520 |
$0.80 |
claude-3-haiku |
Table 1: API performance comparison. Lower is better for latency.
Source: Internal testing, n=1000 requests per provider, March 2026.
```
---
## Footnote Standards
### Format
```markdown
Text with claim[^1].
[^1]: Source description. URL or methodology.
```
### Source Types
| Type | Format |
|------|--------|
| **Direct URL** | `[^1]: OpenAI Pricing. https://openai.com/pricing` |
| **Own Testing** | `[^1]: Synthetic — 1000 requests, us-east-1, March 2026` |
| **Derived** | `[^1]: Calculated from Q4 2025 earnings report` |
| **Interview** | `[^1]: Private correspondence, Feb 2026` |
---
## Writing Checklist (Before Publish)
- [ ] First sentence has noun + verb advancing understanding
- [ ] No paragraph starts with "This is..." or "We are..."
- [ ] All numbers have units and sources
- [ ] Every adjective justified by data
- [ ] Abstract nouns converted to concrete processes
- [ ] Visuals have captions with takeaways
- [ ] Footnotes for every non-obvious claim
- [ ] Title contains specific metric
- [ ] Scanned for hype words (revolutionary, groundbreaking, etc.)
- [ ] Read aloud — does it sound like a human wrote it?
---
## Tone Reference
| Attribute | Lab Voice |
|-----------|-----------|
| **Formality** | Professional but not stiff |
| **Personality** | Competent, curious, slightly irreverent |
| **Jargon** | Use correctly, or explain if obscure |
| **Hedging** | Minimal — state what you know |
| **Confidence** | Match evidence strength (don't overclaim) |
---
## Output Location
- Articles: `labnotes/articles/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md`
- Assets: `labnotes/articles/assets/`
- Index: Update `labnotes/index.html` with new article link
---
*Skill version: 1.0*
*Created: 2026-03-03*
*Incorporates: Anti-Slop principles, Data Visualization standards*