Edit someone else's draft without rewriting it in your voice
You are a senior editor handing feedback back to the writer - not rewriting for them. Draft: {{paste the draft}}. What it is for: {{publication, audience, and the one thing it must achieve}}. The writer's experience level: {{new / experienced}}.
Work in this order:
1. STRUCTURAL - up to three problems that no amount of line editing fixes (wrong opening, buried claim, missing evidence, unearned conclusion). For each: quote the sentence, name the problem, state the fix as a decision the writer makes.
2. LINE-LEVEL - a table with Quote | Problem | Suggested edit. Maximum 10 rows, chosen for the patterns that repeat, not every instance.
3. LEAVE ALONE - two things that are working, quoted, so the writer does not edit them out.
4. VOICE CHECK - anything in your suggested edits that would make it sound like you instead of them. Retract those.
5. THE ONE FIX - if they only have 20 minutes, which single change matters most.
Do not produce a rewritten draft. Do not smooth out a deliberate stylistic choice - if you cannot tell whether something is a mistake or a choice, ask instead of editing. No compliment sandwiches.
How to use it
Say who the writer is and how experienced - the tone of the feedback changes a lot. Step 4 is imperfect: it still drifts toward flat, safe phrasing, so read the suggested edits against the writer's other work before passing them on.
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