# Rewrite for a different reader: prompt chain Pull out the facts that must not change, work out what the new reader needs, rewrite the text for them, then check that every fact made it across and nothing new crept in. **Made for:** Anyone who writes for more than one audience, such as coordinators, analysts and team leads. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **The text as it is now** (required): Paste the text exactly as it stands. A page or two is about right. - **Who will read the new version** (required): Say who they are, what they already know, how they will read it, and what you want them to do afterward. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: List the facts that must stay Pick out the facts in the original that this reader must not lose, quoting the exact words. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful editor who protects the meaning of a text when it is rewritten. Your task is to list the facts in the original text that the new reader must not lose, meaning anything that would change what they understand or what they do if it were dropped or altered. The original text: [PASTE HERE: The text as it is now] Who will read the new version: [PASTE HERE: Who will read the new version] Rules: - Include the numbers, dates, times, names, places, amounts, decisions, deadlines, promises and instructions that this reader needs in order to understand the message or act on it. - Leave out detail this reader does not need, such as internal reference numbers. - Copy the exact words from the original into the last column, word for word. Do not fix or shorten them. - Write each fact as one short line. List 4 to 12 facts. Do not add anything that is not in the original. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Fact | Exact words in the original | ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of the facts that must stay, each with its exact words from the original. **Check after Step 1: Every quote is really in the original** Check by eye: Every quote in the Exact words in the original column appears word for word in the text as it is now. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Say what this reader needs Describe what the new reader already knows, what to explain, what to put first and what to spare them. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced communicator who writes for many different kinds of readers. Your task is to say what this reader needs from the new version, so that the rewrite is built around them and not around the original. Who will read the new version: [PASTE HERE: Who will read the new version] The original text: [PASTE HERE: The text as it is now] The facts that must stay: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the facts that must stay)] Rules: - Write 4 to 6 rows. Cover what the reader already knows, which words in the original they would not know and what to say instead, what they should read first, what they can be spared, and what they should do next. - Base every row on the description of the reader. If the description does not say, write "not stated" in the second column. Do not guess. - Do not change the list of facts or add to it. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | What the reader needs | What that means for the new version | ```` **You get back:** A short table of what this reader needs and what that means for the rewrite. **Check after Step 2: Every row has something written in both columns** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "What the reader needs" and "What that means for the new version" (a blank or a dash does not count). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Write the new version Rewrite the text for this reader, keeping every fact and writing numbers exactly as they were. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a skilled writer who can say the same thing to different people in the words that suit each of them. Your task is to rewrite the original text for the reader described below. The original text: [PASTE HERE: The text as it is now] Who will read the new version: [PASTE HERE: Who will read the new version] What the reader needs: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Say what this reader needs)] The facts that must stay: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the facts that must stay)] Rules: - Put first what the reader most needs to know or do. - Keep every fact in the list, with the same meaning. Write every number, date and time exactly as the original writes it, for example 15:00 and not 3 pm, so it can be matched. - Replace or explain words this reader would not know. Cut detail they do not need. - Match the length and tone the reader needs. Do not add facts, promises, reasons or advice that are not in the original. - Do not mention the original, the rewrite or what you changed. Return the new version and nothing else. ```` **You get back:** The text rewritten for the new reader. **Check after Step 3: No number was added or changed** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears in the text as it is now. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Check each fact against the new version Go through the facts one by one and mark each as kept, changed or missing in the new version. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a meticulous proofreader who checks a rewrite against its source. Your task is to check, for every fact in the list, whether the new version still says it. The facts that must stay: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the facts that must stay)] The new version: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Write the new version)] Rules: - Mark a fact "kept" if the new version says it with the same meaning, "changed" if it says something different or less exact, and "missing" if it is not there. - Be strict. A date that has moved, a number that has been rounded, or a "must" that has become a "may" is "changed". - In the last column, copy the words from the new version that carry the fact. Write "none" if the fact is missing. - Do not rewrite anything. Do not add facts to the list. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Fact | In the new version | Words in the new version | The third column must say exactly kept, changed or missing. ```` **You get back:** A table that marks each fact as kept, changed or missing in the new version. **Check after Step 4: Each fact is marked kept, changed or missing** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "kept", "changed" or "missing" in the In the new version column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 5: Put back anything that changed Fix every fact marked changed or missing, and leave the rest of the new version as it is. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a skilled writer who finishes a rewrite carefully. Your task is to produce the final version of the text for this reader, fixing every fact that the check marked "changed" or "missing" and leaving the rest as it is. The new version: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Write the new version)] The check of each fact: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Check each fact against the new version)] The facts that must stay: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the facts that must stay)] Who will read it: [PASTE HERE: Who will read the new version] Rules: - Change only what is needed to put each "changed" or "missing" fact back as the list of facts has it. If every fact is "kept", return the new version exactly as it is. - Write numbers, dates and times exactly as the facts list does. Do not add anything new. - Do not add notes, headings about the changes or a list of what you fixed. Return the final version and nothing else. ```` **You get back:** The final text for the new reader, with every fact back as the original had it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: No number in the final version is new** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears in the text as it is now. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: Every fact is still said and nothing was added** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every fact is still said and nothing was added Compare the final version with the facts below and with the original. Is every fact in the list still said, with the same meaning, and is there nothing in the final version that the original did not say? Answer FAIL and name the fact that changed or the line that was added. The facts that must stay: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the facts that must stay)] The original text: [PASTE HERE: The text as it is now] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Put back anything that changed)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Put back anything that changed)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 3: It starts with what the reader needs and avoids words they do not know** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: It starts with what the reader needs and avoids words they do not know Read the final version as the reader described below. Does it start with what they most need to know or do, and does it explain or avoid every word they would not know? Answer FAIL and quote the first sentence or word that does not fit. The reader: [PASTE HERE: Who will read the new version] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Put back anything that changed)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Put back anything that changed)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 4: You read it as the reader would** Ask yourself: Read the final version as the person it is for. Would they know what to do next, and does the tone feel right for them? Mark anything that would make them stop and ask, and fix it in your own words. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - The text rewritten for the new reader, with every key fact kept. - A list of the facts that had to stay and a check of each one, so you can see what was kept. ## Changing this chain - To write for two readers, such as staff and the public, run the template twice with the same original and a different description of the reader each time. - The more you say about the reader, the better the fit. Add what they have already seen, how much time they have and how they will read it, such as on a phone, in print or aloud. - If the new reader needs a different unit or a rounded number, add it beside the original number in the original text first, such as 1,240 (about 1,200). The number check then accepts it. - To set a length, add it to the description of the reader, such as "half a page". --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.