Controlling LLM Prose

Area III

Lexical Mechanics & Style

The behavior of words

Style lives in the choice between two words that mean nearly the same thing. Whether you revive buried verbs, tune the density of content words, or dial in an exact register, you are shaping the texture a reader feels but rarely names.

  1. De-nominalization Killing zombie nouns

    Turn abstract nouns back into the verbs and adjectives that animate them.

  2. Lexical Density Content-word ratio

    Tune the ratio of content words to function words to control information throughput.

  3. Micro-Register Precise linguistic register

    Name an exact linguistic mode instead of a broad tone—clinical, pulp-noir, elegiac.

Example from this area

From De-nominalization—Turn abstract nouns back into the verbs and adjectives that animate them.

BeforeThe implementation of the new policy led to a reduction in the occurrence of violations by the staff.
AfterAfter we implemented the new policy, staff violated the rules less often.