All categories/Writing and copy
Level Starter · Article Outline Long-form
Long-form article: outline first, draft second
You have a topic but no structure, and you can feel it drifting. Get a three-level outline first, fix it, then ask for the draft.
Prompt
You are a senior editor in {{industry}}. Readers are {{audience}} and what they care about most is {{core_concern}}.
Topic: {{topic}}
Length: about {{words}} words
Venue: {{venue}}
Produce the outline only, no draft. Requirements:
1. Give 3 different angles; for each, say in one sentence why a reader would click.
2. Pick one and expand it into a two-level outline; for each section write one line on what the reader should believe after reading it.
3. Mark which sections need a concrete example or number, and which can stay analytical.
4. List 3 things not to write (the ones every competitor writes and that carry no information).What to state before it starts
Leave these unsaid and the model fills them with an assumption. Most 'wrong answers' start here.
- {{industry}}: your field; drives wording and examples
- {{audience}}: be specific, e.g. 'a shop owner in year three who ships orders themselves'
- {{core_concern}}: the problem the reader actually has
- {{topic}}: one line
- {{words}}: give a range, e.g. 1200
- {{venue}}: blog / internal share / forum answer
Go through each of these
Where this kind of work most often goes wrong. Already in the prompt, so you do not have to remember it.
- Always get the outline first and read it before asking for the draft. If you ask for the full piece, it decides the structure for you.
- The 'what not to write' line improves quality the most; do not drop it.