Check Whether the Draft Carries One Idea Too Many
Added 2026-11-05
Try to say everything and the reader keeps nothing.
Here is my outline: [paste the outline or first sentence of each paragraph]. Tell me whether it carries too many topics: 1) summarize in one line what each paragraph accomplishes, merge duplicates, and count the actual claims; 2) mark which paragraphs serve the same claim and which start a new one; 3) name the parts to move into a separate piece and say where each piece would then focus; 4) give a cut that keeps one claim, marking what stays and what goes; 5) say where the cut material can be reused later; 6) if everything stays, name the paragraph where readers drop off. Do not rewrite it for me.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
A piece has one "so what"; everything else is support.
Try tweaking it
- Ask for three openings in different tones, then pick one.
- Replace "make it better" with concrete limits: length, reader, facts to keep.
What you should get
- A publishable draft, not an outline
- A short changelog: what changed and why
Common mistakes
- Letting it guess the facts, so plausible-looking sources get invented.
- Dumping the whole text with just "polish it" — the result still has no point.
How to check the output
- The conclusion comes first; deleting the opening paragraph does not break it.
- Every fact, number and quote traces back to the source text.
Where it works
- Good for: turning a rambling draft into a conclusion-first, shorter version.
- Watch out: keep sources and figures verbatim — do not let it invent citations.