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Writing & Editing

Get Structural Feedback on a Draft

Reviews a draft like a developmental editor: is the argument clear, ordered and supported? Gives ranked feedback without rewriting it.

Designed for general-purpose AI assistantsPublished November 2026

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Act as a developmental editor and give me feedback on the structure and argument of my draft. Do not rewrite any of it, and do not fix sentences.

Type of piece: {{type of piece}}
Intended reader: {{reader}}
What I want the reader to understand or do: {{goal}}
What I am worried about: none in particular
Stage of the draft: first full draft

Draft:
{{draft}}

Tell me:
1. In your own words, what you think the piece is saying and who it is for. If this differs from my stated goal, say how.
2. The reader's experience: where you would expect an intended reader to be confused, bored, skeptical or lost, with the paragraph or passage.
3. Structure: whether the order works, which section could move, which could be cut and what is missing. Describe the structure as a numbered list of what each section actually does.
4. Argument and support: claims that are made but not supported, examples that do not prove their point, and any leaps in logic.
5. Opening and ending: whether the opening earns attention and whether the ending delivers on the goal.
6. The three changes that would improve the piece most, ranked, each with a reason and a specific place in the draft.
7. What is working, specifically, so I do not remove it while revising.

Rules: be direct, specific and kind. Quote the passage you are talking about. Do not praise in general terms, and do not pad the feedback with minor wording issues. If you cannot tell what a section is for, say so, because that is itself useful feedback. Do not suggest content that conflicts with my stated goal.

4 required fields are empty and will stay as a {{placeholder}} in the copied text.

How to use it

  1. Say what stage the draft is at. Feedback on a first draft should be about structure; polishing sentences too early wastes effort.
  2. Tell the assistant what you are worried about. Naming a concern focuses the review where you need it.
  3. Compare its summary of your piece with what you meant. A mismatch is the most important kind of feedback.
  4. Revise the top three items, then paste the new version and ask whether the changes worked.

Example output

Illustrative only. Real answers depend on your input and the assistant you use.

What I think it says: Small restaurants should switch to digital menus because they save money, written for owners. You said you want owners to try a pilot, but the piece never suggests one.

Reader experience:
- Paragraph 3: an owner would likely be skeptical here. You cite savings without any numbers.
- Paragraphs 6 to 7: both discuss QR codes; a reader may feel repetition.

Structure:
1. Opens with an anecdote. 2. Lists benefits. 3. Describes setup. 4. Lists risks. 5. Ends with a summary.
Section 4 comes too late; skeptical readers will have stopped believing by then. Consider moving risks before setup.

Argument: "Digital menus always increase sales" is stated as fact but only supported by one example.

Top three changes:
1. Add real numbers to paragraph 3 or soften the claim.
2. Move the risks section earlier.
3. End with the pilot you want owners to try.

Working well: the opening anecdote is specific and credible. Keep it.

Tips

Developmental feedback is most useful before you polish. If you spend an hour on sentences and then cut the section, that hour is gone.

Run the same draft through a second assistant and compare. Points that both raise are probably real; points only one raises deserve your own judgment.

You decide what to change. If a suggestion conflicts with what you are trying to say, ignore it. The goal is a better version of your piece, not the assistant's.

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