The Two-Pass Edit: Structure Then Line — Claude

ClaudeWriting From a course

Professional editing is two separate passes: a structural pass (does the argument build? is anything missing or redundant?) and a line pass (rhythm, word choice, cuts).

The prompt

PASS 1 — structural edit only. Do not touch sentences. Output: the piece's argument in one line, a list of sections that don't serve it, anything missing, and a reordered outline if needed.

[PASTE DRAFT]

What to replace

Swap these placeholders for your own details before running the prompt:

[PASTE DRAFT]your own value

Pro tip: Never let the line edit start until structure is locked — polishing sentences you'll delete is the biggest time sink in content.

How to use this prompt

Copy the prompt using the button above.
Replace [PASTE DRAFT] with your own details — the more specific you are, the better the output.
Paste it into Claude and run it.
If the answer feels generic, add constraints: audience, length, tone, and what to avoid. That single change fixes most weak output.

Learn the technique

The Two-Pass Edit: Structure Then Line

Module 5 — Expert: Editorial Quality at Scale · AI Content Creation

Related prompts

Claude

Killing the "AI Voice"

Generic AI writing tends to over-use certain patterns (excessive "moreover," perfectly balanced sentences, hedge-everything tone).

Hugging Face (Stable Diffusion)

Structuring Image Prompts

Good image prompts (for DALL·E, Stable Diffusion / Hugging Face models, Midjourney-style tools) generally follow: Subject -> Setting -> Style/medium -> Lighting/mood -> Composition/technical details..

ChatGPT

One Article, Five Formats

Turn a single long-form piece into a newsletter blurb, Twitter/X thread, LinkedIn post, Instagram caption, and short-form video script — with one well-structured prompt..

Claude

Building a Reusable Brand Voice Prompt

Instead of re-describing your tone every time, create a single "voice block" you paste at the top of every content prompt.

ChatGPT

Batch-Creating a Week of Content

Once you have a voice block and a topic, you can generate a whole content calendar in one structured request — then refine individual pieces..

Claude

The Two-Pass Edit: Structure Then Line — Claude (2)

Professional editing is two separate passes: a structural pass (does the argument build? is anything missing or redundant?) and a line pass (rhythm, word choice, cuts).