Make Every Paragraph Answer "So What?"
Added 2026-11-03
After each paragraph ask: what would the reader do differently now?
Here is a paragraph I wrote. Do: 1) judge whether each sentence contributes to "so what"; 2) mark pure background that can be compressed; 3) restructure each paragraph as conclusion, evidence, implication; 4) point out the paragraph that has information but no conclusion; 5) give one test I can apply. Do not add slogan-style summaries.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
读者读文章时一直在问：这跟我有什么关系。
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.