---
title: "Rewrite a draft for one named reader"
description: "Cut the throat-clearing, keep the claim and the caveat, and produce a version a specific person can act on without a second read."
canonical: "https://www.diginomads.win/prompts/rewrite-for-a-reader"
source: "content/pages/prompts/rewrite-for-a-reader.md"
updatedAt: "2026-11-10"
---

## Copy-ready prompt

~~~text
You are rewriting a draft for one named reader.

Reader: [READER]
Draft: [DRAFT]
What the reader must do after reading: [GOAL]
Constraints: [CONSTRAINTS]

Work in this order:
1. State the reader's situation and decision in one sentence. If you cannot, ask me for the missing fact before rewriting.
2. List every factual claim, number and recommendation in the draft. Mark each as "keep", "needs a source" or "cut".
3. Identify the sentence the reader needs first. It is usually buried in paragraph three.
4. Rewrite for that reader: short paragraphs, concrete nouns, active verbs, no throat-clearing. Keep every "keep" claim and every caveat.
5. Move background below the decision. If the reader does not need it to act, cut it or put it in a note.
6. Return a short change log: what you cut, what you kept and why.

Rules:
- Do not invent a fact, a number, a quote or a source.
- Do not soften a caveat to make the draft read better.
- Do not add a call to action the draft did not support.
- Keep the author's voice where it is already clear.
- If a sentence is load-bearing but unsupported, flag it instead of rewriting it.
~~~

**Use when:** A draft is accurate but too long, too abstract or written for everyone, and you know who actually has to read it.

**Output contract:** A rewritten draft with the reader's decision stated up front, claims preserved, caveats intact and every cut explained.

**Inputs you need:**

- The draft, in full
- Who reads it and what they must decide or do
- What must not change: claims, numbers, legal wording, tone

| Variable | What to put there |
|---|---|
| [READER] | A role and a situation, not a demographic. “A solo consultant deciding whether to raise a retainer” beats “busy professionals”. |
| [DRAFT] | The full draft. Do not paste a summary; the buried lede is usually in the part you were tempted to leave out. |
| [GOAL] | The decision or action the reader must take. If there is no action, say “understand X well enough to explain it”. |
| [CONSTRAINTS] | Length, reading level, house style, words that must stay, legal wording that cannot be edited. |

## How to use it

1. Name one reader. If you have two, run the prompt twice and compare where the versions diverge.
2. Paste the whole draft. The rewrite is only as good as the material it can cut from.
3. Read the change log before the rewrite. If it cut a caveat, put the caveat back.
4. Check the first sentence against the goal. If it does not help the reader decide, rewrite it yourself.

## Guardrails

- Every claim in the original is either kept, sourced or explicitly flagged as cut.
- Caveats survive the rewrite.
- No new fact, number or quote appears.
- The opening sentence names the decision, not the topic.

## Variations

### If the reader is an executive

Add: “Put the recommendation, the cost and the risk in the first five lines. Move the method to an appendix.” Executives read for the decision, not the process.

### If the draft is technical

Add: “Keep the exact command names, version numbers and error strings. Rewrite the explanation, not the evidence.”

## Why this works

“Make it clearer” gives the model nothing to optimize. “Rewrite for a solo consultant deciding whether to raise a retainer” gives it a reader, a decision and a test. The rewrite can then cut the paragraphs that do not help that reader decide, which is most of them.

The claim ledger is the safety rail. It stops the model from producing a smoother draft by quietly dropping the number that made the piece worth reading.

## What good looks like

The first line should be the decision or the finding, not the context. If the rewrite still opens with “In today's fast-moving landscape”, the reader was not specific enough.

A good change log is short and uncomfortable. It should name at least one thing you liked that did not survive.

## Adapt it to your work

For client-facing writing, add the client's own words to `[READER]` and ask the model to use them. For internal writing, add the decision owner and the deadline. For translated copy, add “do not translate product names or legal terms” to `[CONSTRAINTS]`.

## Failure modes

- **The rewrite is shorter but says less.** Check the claim ledger; a cut caveat is a changed claim.
- **The model flatters the draft.** Ask “what would a skeptical reader stop at?” before the rewrite.
- **Every paragraph becomes a bullet.** Bullets hide the logic. Keep the argument in prose and bullet only the list.

## Related templates

- [Turn notes into a publishable article](/prompts/notes-to-article)
- [Learn a tool by building a tiny artifact](/prompts/learn-a-tool-by-building)
- [The writing-room skill pack](/skills/writing-room)

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