Ask Claude for a task: refine a draft in the direction you want

Add the audience and purpose to a request such as ‘Organize this text.’ A notice for attendees and a list of decisions for organizers need different information from the same notes.

Example request: ‘Use the notes below to write an announcement for first-time attendees. Make the supplies and location easy to find, and omit the detailed background.’ If the source has no location, add that it should remain undecided.

Filenames alone may not show which document is current. Explain that one PDF is the source of confirmed content while a previous DOCX is a tone reference. Check that an old date from the reference does not appear in the new draft.

Example request: ‘Use only the confirmed plan for content. Refer to the previous announcement only for sentence length and greetings. If schedules differ, tell me rather than assuming which is current.’ A short rule for choosing sources can reduce revisions.

‘Do not write like AI’ does not explain the tone you want. Give one or two sentences you like and say what to borrow: short sentences, a natural polite tone or an announcement without exaggeration.

For example, explain that you prefer a direct line like ‘On Saturday, we will talk about the books we read’ to an abstract invitation to join a meaningful journey. Use the example for style and the provided material for facts.

For a short one-page announcement you can ask for a draft immediately. For a long report combining several sources, ask to see an outline and the material for each section first. This can reduce the work of restructuring a finished draft.

Once the outline is right, ask for the body. Specify only what matters, such as ‘Use a comparison table for the second section and short paragraphs for the rest.’ You do not need to complete a fixed prompt template.

Instead of saying the draft feels wrong, identify the uncomfortable part and the direction to change it, such as ‘Shorten the background in the first paragraph and move supplies higher.’

If a name or number is wrong, indicate where to check it in the original. Distinguish a tone change from a factual correction. After editing, reread the dates and names you asked it to preserve.

When you find conditions you need repeatedly, keep them as a short request: use only confirmed information, lead with supplies and use a friendly polite tone. The useful criteria you discovered are enough.

For continuing work on one topic, you can use a project's shared instructions and references. Keep one-off conditions in the current request and reserve shared instructions for standards that should persist.