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CONTENT WRITING

Expand a thin section with substance

Use when one section of an otherwise good article is obviously shallow and padding it would make it worse.

expand-thin-section.md
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One section of an article is thin. Diagnose whether it needs more substance or should be cut, then fix it.

Full article for context: {{ARTICLE}}
The thin section: {{THIN_SECTION}}
What this section is supposed to do for the reader: {{SECTION_JOB}}
What I know about this specific subtopic: {{KNOWN_MATERIAL}}

Output:
1. Verdict: Expand, Merge with another section, or Cut. One paragraph of reasoning.
2. If Expand, list what is actually missing, choosing from: a worked example, the exception or edge case, the reason it works, what to do when it fails, a comparison, a step-by-step, or evidence. Do not choose more than three.
3. The expanded section, using only material I supplied plus reasoning that follows from it.
4. Anything you would need from me to make it genuinely stronger, phrased as specific questions.

Rules:
- Do not lengthen by restating the same point in new words. That is the failure mode to avoid.
- Do not invent examples, customers, or numbers. Use placeholders such as [EXAMPLE NEEDED: type] instead.
- If the honest verdict is Cut, say Cut. Do not expand a section that has nothing to say.
- No em dashes. British spelling.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

  • {{ARTICLE}}
  • {{THIN_SECTION}}
  • {{SECTION_JOB}}
  • {{KNOWN_MATERIAL}}

Getting a better result

  1. The questions in step 4 are usually faster to answer than reviewing a padded section.
  2. A Cut verdict on a section your stakeholder requested is worth having in writing.
  3. Give it the full article, otherwise it duplicates material from elsewhere in the piece.

Questions about this prompt

When should I run this rather than ask for the section to be lengthened?

When you suspect the section may not deserve to exist. Ask any writing prompt to lengthen something and you get the same point restated at greater width. This one opens with a verdict, and Expand is only one of the three answers it is allowed to give.

How much context does it need?

The full article for context, the thin section itself, what that section is meant to do for the reader, and what you actually know about the subtopic. Give it the whole article. Without it the expansion duplicates material that already appears two sections further down the page.

What does the verdict come with?

A verdict of Expand, Merge or Cut with reasoning, at most three named things that are missing, the expanded section, and specific questions it needs you to answer. Those questions in step 4 are the useful bit. Answering them is usually quicker than reviewing a padded section.

What is the expensive decision here?

Overriding a Cut verdict. A section with nothing to say costs more expanded than removed, and a Cut in writing is useful when the stakeholder who requested the section objects. Placeholders such as EXAMPLE NEEDED must be filled by you, since inventing the example is the thing this prompt exists to prevent.