# Know why a piece exists before you write it

Before you write, it asks four questions in writing: the point of the piece, why a reader would care, the business goal, and what making it says about us.

Free, to use and to change. What it can see: only the chat you add it to.

Its short name: why-this-piece. [Source on GitHub](https://github.com/mbsi-labs/skills/tree/main/plugins/why-this-piece/skills/why-this-piece).

## Install

Pick the one you use.

### Claude Code

> **Tested:** This install worked when we tried it.

```
/plugin marketplace add mbsi-labs/skills
/plugin install why-this-piece@skills
```


## Changelog

- 2026-10-20 (84e9645): Updated.
- 2026-10-20 (ab32ee5): why-this-piece: fire on emails too
- 2026-10-18 (159f454): Updated.
- 2026-10-18 (ebe0495): Updated.
- 2026-10-18 (3edbf16): Updated.

Licence: MIT.

## The skill itself

Readers read for a gain they can take and for standing among their peers. Answer these so the piece gives both, fast.

Before you write, answer these in writing, from the material in front of you:

1. What is the point of this piece?
2. Why would a reader care about it?
3. What is the business goal of this piece?
4. What does the fact that we made the thing it's about say about us, and why do we want to promote that?

Rules for the answers:

- Each answer cites its source: a sentence in the material, a number, a run, or the user's words. An answer with no source is a guess; read more before writing.
- The neighbour test: put the nearest similar piece in place of this one. Any answer that still fits it belongs to the category, not to this piece. Strike it and answer again.
- Name the kind: a craft showpiece (shows a novel solution generously, workflow included), a customer post (the reader's money, clients and business, not our tools), or research (the answer first, every figure attributed, a check the reader can run). The kind decides which writing-wins apply.

Read `references/model-answer.md` once: the user's own answers for one piece, the shape to match. Then write toward your answers, and chain the sections with "but" or "therefore", never "and then".

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First published 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20. Web page: https://www.mackenziebowes.com/skills/why-this-piece Part of [Skills](https://www.mackenziebowes.com/skills).