What each part of the prompt does
- No line edits
- Telling Claude not to touch grammar keeps the feedback at the level of structure. Mixing the two buries the big problems under dozens of small fixes, and you end up polishing a section that should be cut.
- Reverse outline
- One line per section on what it does (sets up the problem, gives an example, answers an objection) shows the shape of the draft at a glance. Repeated or missing jobs become obvious in a way they never are while reading.
- Judged against a purpose
- Structure is only good or bad relative to what the piece must achieve. Stating the purpose lets Claude say that a strong section still does not belong, or that the ending asks for the wrong thing.
- Ranked and capped
- Seven suggestions ordered by impact give you a plan for the next draft. A long unranked list makes every change feel equally urgent and usually leads to none being made.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Fiction chapter <task>Give me a developmental edit of the draft below: feedback on plot, character motivation and pacing. Do not fix grammar or rewrite sentences.</task> <draft> [DRAFT] </draft> <context> What the piece is and where it will appear: [PIECE TYPE] Who the reader is: [READER] What I want the reader to think or do at the end: [PURPOSE] </context> <steps> 1. Write a reverse outline: one line per section or paragraph saying what it does, not what it says. 2. Judge the chapter against [PURPOSE], including whether each scene changes something for a character: what is missing, what is in the wrong order, what could be cut without loss. 3. Point to the places where a reader of type [READER] is likely to get confused or lose interest, quoting the first words of each. 4. Rank your suggestions from the one that would improve the piece most to the least, at most seven. </steps> <format> Reverse outline, then the ranked suggestions, each with the reason and a one-line example of the change. No line edits and no full rewrite. </format>
Compare two drafts <task>Give me a developmental edit comparing the two drafts below (the first is the earlier one): feedback on structure, argument and pacing. Do not fix grammar or rewrite sentences.</task> <draft> [DRAFT] </draft> <context> What the piece is and where it will appear: [PIECE TYPE] Who the reader is: [READER] What I want the reader to think or do at the end: [PURPOSE] </context> <steps> 1. Write a reverse outline: one line per section or paragraph saying what it does, not what it says. 2. Judge the structure against [PURPOSE]: what is missing, what is in the wrong order, what could be cut without loss. 3. Point to the places where a reader of type [READER] is likely to get confused or lose interest, quoting the first words of each. 4. Say which structural problems the second draft solved and which are still there. Then rank your remaining suggestions from the one that would improve the piece most to the least, at most seven. </steps> <format> Reverse outline, then the ranked suggestions, each with the reason and a one-line example of the change. No line edits and no full rewrite. </format>
If the result isn't right
- Ask for this before a proofread, not after; structural changes undo line edits.
- If you disagree with the reverse outline, the draft is probably not saying what you think it says; that is useful to know.
- Make the top two changes, then run the prompt again on the new draft instead of working through all seven at once.