Refactoring English
Effective Writing for Software Developers
Many software developers think they’re naturally poor writers, but there’s no such thing.
Most software developers are weak writers because they don’t try.
You can improve your writing skills the same way you learned to become a better programmer: by learning best practices and understanding how to apply them.
Refactoring English will improve your writing in areas that matter most to developers, including:
- Design documents
- Tutorials
- Blog posts
- Emails
Purchase
What’s included?
- Full Refactoring English ebook (200+ pages)
- Downloadable PDF version (DRM-free)
- Downloadable EPUB version (DRM-free)
- Web version
Book Contents
Refactoring English teaches everything I’ve learned over the years about applying effective writing techniques to the domain of software.
- Preface: Why Improve Your Writing?
- Part One: Writing Techniques
- Get to the Point
- Make Your Writing Sound Natural
- Help the Reader Reach Their Goal
- Meet the Reader Where They Are
- Respect the Reader’s Mental Bandwidth
- Use Headings to Create Structure
- Verbs Drive the Sentence
- Stay Positive: How Negative Phrasing Reduces Readability
- Passive Voice Considered Harmful
- Delete Aggressively
- Eliminate Ambiguity
- Improve Your Writing with AI
- Overcome Writer’s Block
- Stay in Flow State
- Improve Your Grammar Incrementally
- Part Two: Document-Specific Guides
When will the full book be available?
All chapters of the book are complete and available, as of 2026-06-02.
Even though the book is complete, I’m still tweaking it based on reader feedback. I expect to declare an official 1.0 release in August 2026.
The changes between now and 1.0 will be mostly small formatting changes and polishing the wording.
Do you offer regional pricing?
If you’re in a country where the standard price is unaffordable, I offer discounted regional pricing according to purchasing power parity.
Can I see free samples?
Yes! Excerpts of the book are available in the excerpts section.
Will there be a print version?
Maybe.
Depending on how ebook sales go, I may offer a print version on paperback. If I do a print run, I’ll offer discounts to customers who purchased the ebook.
Satisfaction guarantee
I don’t want anyone to pay money for this book and feel like it wasn’t worth it.
If you’re dissatisfied with the quality of the book, email me, and I’ll refund 100% of your purchase.