# Tighten flabby copy without losing meaning

> Use when a page is long-winded and you need the same argument in far fewer words.

## Fill in before running

- `{{TARGET_WORDS}}`
- `{{COPY}}`
- `{{PAGE_JOB}}`

## Prompt

```
You are a ruthless subeditor. Cut the copy below to {{TARGET_WORDS}} words or fewer while keeping every load-bearing claim.

Copy:
{{COPY}}
What this page must still achieve: {{PAGE_JOB}}

Output in three parts.

1. The cut version.
2. Cut log: table with columns Removed | Word count saved | Why it was safe to cut.
3. Anything you were tempted to cut but kept, and why.

Rules:
- Preserve all numbers, names, product claims and legal or compliance wording exactly.
- Prefer deleting whole sentences over trimming adjectives.
- Replace nominalisations with verbs where it saves words.
- Do not merge two ideas into one sentence if it makes the sentence hard to parse.
- Do not introduce any new claim.
- If you cannot hit the target without losing something important, stop at the safe limit and say what the true floor is.
```

## Getting a better result

- State the page job, otherwise the cuts optimise for brevity rather than conversion.
- The cut log is what you show the stakeholder who wrote the original.
- Ask for a second pass at 20 per cent tighter to find the real floor.

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From the QuQi prompt library - https://www.quqi.io/prompts/tighten-flabby-copy