The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You need a critique of structure, argument and clarity, with the weakest parts flagged, not a rewrite.
- {{draft}}
- {{what_and_who}}
- {{goal}}
- {{reader_concerns}}
- {{my_worries}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Give me an honest critique of the draft below before I send it. I want to know what is weak and why, not a rewrite; I will make the changes myself. The draft: """ {{draft}} """ What it is and who will read it: {{what_and_who}} What I want the reader to do or think after reading: {{goal}} What the reader cares about or might push back on: {{reader_concerns}} What I am unsure about, or "none": {{my_worries}} Task: Read the draft as the intended reader would, then give me these parts, with a short heading for each. 1. Verdict: two sentences. Will this draft achieve my goal with this reader, and what is the single biggest problem? 2. What the reader would take away, in one sentence. If it differs from my goal, say how. 3. Problems, up to 5, most serious first. For each: where it is (quote the first few words), what is wrong, why it matters to this reader, and what to do about it, as a direction rather than rewritten text. Look at structure (main point buried, wrong order), argument (claims without support, gaps in logic, objections not answered), clarity (jargon, vague or ambiguous sentences), tone (wrong register for this reader) and length. 4. The weakest paragraph, quoted, with two sentences on why. 5. Questions the reader is likely to ask that the draft does not answer. 6. What is working: two or three things I should not cut. 7. Typos or small errors, listed briefly, if there are any. Rules: - Be direct. Do not soften problems or pad the critique with praise; the point is to find the problems before the reader does. - Do not rewrite the draft. You may give one example sentence for a problem if that is the clearest way to explain it. - Skip matters of taste that do not affect my goal. A good critique is one I can act on in twenty minutes. If my goal or the reader is unclear from what I gave, say so at the top, with what you assumed.
Variables
- {{draft}}
- The draft you are about to send.
- {{what_and_who}}
- What the draft is and who receives it, for example "a proposal to our CFO" or "an email to an unhappy client".
- {{goal}}
- What you want the reader to do or think afterward, for example "approve the budget" or "agree to a call".
- {{reader_concerns}}
- What the reader cares about most, or what they are likely to object to.
- {{my_worries}}
- Parts you are unsure about, for example "the second section feels long". Write "none" if there are none.
Why it works
- What good looks like. Each problem comes with where it is, why it matters to this reader and what to do, so the critique is something you can act on, not a list of opinions.
- What to avoid. It critiques without rewriting and skips matters of taste, so you keep your own words and fix only what stands between the draft and your goal.
- Who it's for. Reading as the intended reader, with your goal stated, turns general feedback into a test of whether the draft will work.