A useful Claude prompt explains the work and gives you a way to check the result. This guide uses a short community announcement as an editing exercise, then moves to a document comparison. You will practice preserving facts, naming the intended reader and asking for a particular output. The examples work as ordinary chat messages; you do not need the API or Claude Code.
State the job and its constraints, label your reference material, and define the output. For document work, ask for section references and make missing facts explicit. Review the result, then give targeted feedback instead of repeatedly asking for a ‘better’ version.
Go straight to the stepsBefore you begin
Begin with a passage you can verify yourself. If using files, attach them through the chat’s file controls and confirm the names. Upload support and limits can change. A role such as ‘editor’ describes how you want help; it does not make the response professionally reviewed.
What you’ll need
- Access to Claude
- A short non-sensitive draft or reference text
- Optional: two documents you are allowed to share
Let’s do this
Step by step
- 01
Decide what Claude should produce
Choose an output you can inspect: a revised announcement, a comparison table or a list of missing details. State the audience and the purpose. For the practice announcement, you want neighbors to understand the event arrangements without reading an unnecessarily formal paragraph.
- 02
Label the source text and instructions separately
Use headings such as ‘Draft’ and ‘Editing instructions.’ For a complicated request, tags such as <draft> and </draft> are another way to mark boundaries. Tags organize the message; they do not give a source document permission to override your instructions or guarantee perfect interpretation.
- 03
Say what must remain accurate
In an editing task, specify that names, dates, times and quantities must stay unchanged. In a comparison, name the exact dimensions to compare, such as setup time or included equipment. Request a missing-information label rather than allowing the answer to fill a gap with an assumption.
- 04
Give one relevant style example if needed
If ‘friendly’ produces the wrong tone, supply a short sample sentence you like and explain the quality to imitate. Ask Claude to match its directness or reading level, while keeping your actual facts. Avoid including an unrelated example with a different format or contradictory requirements.
- 05
Inspect the result before requesting another pass
For an edit, place the original and revision side by side and compare factual details. For a document table, check the referenced sections. Circle one concrete issue to fix. A request such as ‘preserve the deadline but shorten the introduction’ gives the next revision a clear target.
- 06
Keep the final draft and a review trail
Save the approved text outside the chat with a descriptive filename. For a reusable task, keep your prompt, one representative input and the checks it must pass. If a future reply changes the format or loses a fact, those examples make the problem easier to describe and reproduce.
Put it into practice
Prompts you can copy and try
Replace bracketed placeholders with your own details. The examples are starting points; check the replies against your actual task.
Edit an announcement without changing the facts
This fictional draft gives you a small result to check line by line.
Edit this announcement for neighbors who are reading quickly. Keep every date, time, location and quantity unchanged. Use everyday language and keep the revision under 70 words. Return the revised text, then a short checklist of facts you preserved. <draft> We wish to advise residents that a book exchange will take place on June 6 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Maple Hall lobby. Each person may bring up to five books. Please bring books in good condition. </draft>
Then try this follow-up
Keep the details and word limit. Make the opening sound more conversational and remove any claim not present in the draft.
Compare two documents without filling the gaps
Attach both documents, or paste clearly labeled excerpts first.
Compare [Document A] and [Document B] for [specific purpose]. Use only these documents. Make a table with one row for each of these criteria: [criteria]. Include separate columns for A, B and the section or page supporting each entry. Use ‘not stated’ when a document lacks a detail. After the table, list the unresolved questions I should ask. Do not choose a winner until the criteria and missing information are clear.
Then try this follow-up
Recheck every difference you listed. Remove any difference that comes only from wording rather than a real difference in the documents.
Get feedback before a rewrite
Useful when you want to keep your own voice rather than replace the entire draft.
Review the draft below for [audience]. My purpose is [purpose]. Do not rewrite it yet. Identify the three places where a reader is most likely to be confused. For each, quote only the short phrase needed to locate it, explain the problem, and suggest one specific change. Preserve my viewpoint. Draft: [paste your text]
Then try this follow-up
Apply only the first two suggestions. Leave the rest of the draft unchanged and show the revised paragraphs.
Extract actions from a meeting note
Paste a short note you are permitted to share.
From the meeting notes below, extract explicit action items. Use a table with Action, Owner, Due date and Supporting sentence. Do not turn a general discussion point into an agreed action. Mark missing owners or dates as ‘not stated’. Put possible follow-up ideas in a separate section, clearly labeled as suggestions. Meeting notes: [paste notes]
Then try this follow-up
Check whether any row claims an agreement the notes do not actually record. Move uncertain rows to the suggestions section.
A simple way to check a document comparison
Before using your real documents, try two short practice notes: ‘A: 20 chairs, setup at 9 a.m.’ and ‘B: 16 chairs, setup time not stated.’ Ask for chairs and setup time only. A useful comparison should keep the quantities distinct and leave B’s time unresolved. If it invents a time, improve the instructions before giving it a longer file.
Add an unrelated detail to one note, such as a wall color. The comparison should still focus on your chosen criteria. This tests whether the prompt is narrow enough for the decision you are making. It also gives you a quick check to repeat if you later change the template.
When a document upload is the real problem
Anthropic documents text extraction for non-PDF documents, so an embedded diagram in one of those files may not be available in the way you expect. Check its current upload guidance for PDF visual-processing limits. If the answer depends on a chart, provide that relevant visual in a supported form and identify what you need from it.
Ask for a section reference, then open the original and read it. A confident summary can still misunderstand a sentence or omit an exception. When a document is ambiguous, keep the uncertainty in your final notes and ask its author for clarification rather than asking Claude to resolve it by guessing.
Fix a specific prompting problem
| Problem | Next instruction |
|---|---|
| The revision changes facts | Keep the named dates and quantities exactly; list any uncertainty separately. |
| The answer rewrites too much | Edit only paragraph two and preserve the rest verbatim. |
| The comparison invents details | Use ‘not stated’ and point to the supporting section for every entry. |
| The tone still feels wrong | Match the directness of this short example, without borrowing its facts. |
A quick final check
- The result uses the intended source material.
- Names, dates, quantities and exceptions survived the edit.
- Document references support the comparison.
- The final version and reusable prompt are saved separately.
Common questions & sticking points
Do I need XML tags to prompt Claude?
No. Clear headings are enough for many requests. Tags can help distinguish a draft, examples and instructions in a complex message, but they are an organizational aid rather than a requirement.
How do I stop Claude from rewriting everything?
Name the exact paragraph or sentence to change and say what should stay untouched. Asking for feedback before a rewrite also lets you choose which edits to apply.
Can Claude compare two uploaded documents?
You can ask it to compare supported attachments. Name both files and your criteria, request references, and verify the entries against the originals. Check current upload guidance if important content is inside images or charts.
Are these prompts only for Claude?
The task, context and output instructions can be adapted to other assistants. File handling and product controls differ, so attach the relevant material in the app you actually use and check the result there.
Sources & further reading Optional
References used to check this guide. Follow your product’s own safety instructions where its design differs.
- Anthropic: Claude prompting techniques
- Anthropic: Improve an unhelpful prompt
- Anthropic: Upload files and understand document processing