Cut the Meta-Commentary from a Draft
Added 2026-11-06
Meta-commentary adds no information; it spends the reader's trust.
Here is a passage from my draft: [paste it]. Find and cut the meta-commentary: 1) mark phrases that carry no information — "I think", "obviously", "it is worth noting", "needless to say", "as everyone knows"; 2) separate the ones to delete from the ones to rewrite as a direct statement; 3) flag the ones that are covering thin evidence, using attitude instead of argument; 4) give the cut version and say whether any necessary tone or qualification was lost; 5) check whether the result reads blunt, and soften one spot; 6) list the meta phrases I reuse as a checklist for next time.
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Replace these placeholders 1
Swap the bracketed parts for your own details before sending.
[paste it]
How to use
If a sentence collapses without "I think", the problem was never the phrasing.
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.