LLMs as Writing Assistants

Input prompt:

"Generate article ideas about 
sustainable urban farming 
for young professionals"

Benefits:

• Overcome writer's block
• Explore new angles
• Rapid iteration

LLM Response:

• "Balcony-to-Table: Starting Your Mini Garden in 1 Hour"
• "5 Smart Devices That Water Your Plants While You're at Work"
• "Urban Farming Communities: Finding Your Green Network"
• "From Microgreens to Meals: High-ROI Plants for Busy People"

Input:

"Help me organize my thoughts 
about remote work culture 
into a coherent outline"

Output:

I. Evolution of Remote Work
   A. Pre-pandemic trends
   B. Covid-19 impact
   C. Current landscape

II. Core Components
   A. Digital infrastructure
   B. Communication protocols
   C. Team dynamics

III. Best Practices
   A. Establishing routines
   B. Virtual collaboration
   C. Work-life boundaries

Key Features:

• Maintains consistent tone
• Follows structural guidance
• Incorporates key points
• Generates citations

Pro Tips:

• Provide detailed context
• Specify target audience
• Include style preferences
• Set clear parameters

Capabilities:

• Grammar & style checks
• Clarity improvements
• Conciseness
• Consistency in tone

Example prompt:

"Review this text for clarity 
and conciseness, maintaining 
a professional tone while 
making it more engaging."

Pro tip:

"Ask for specific types of improvements rather than general editing."

Be Specific

❌ "Make this better"
✅ "Make this email more 
persuasive by emphasizing 
the ROI and adding a clear 
call to action"

Provide Context

❌ "Write a conclusion"
✅ "Write a conclusion for a 
blog post about sustainable 
farming, targeting urban 
millennials. The post covered: 
[key points]"

Set the stage:

"Act as an experienced 
technical writer creating 
documentation for senior 
developers. Use detailed 
code examples and focus on 
edge cases."

Specify style:

"Write in a conversational 
tone, using analogies to 
explain complex concepts. 
Target audience is beginners 
with basic programming 
knowledge."

Chain of Thought

"Let's approach this step by step:
1. First, outline the key points
2. Then, expand each section
3. Finally, add transitions"

Temperature Control

"Be creative and generate 
multiple unique approaches"

vs.

"Stick to established best 
practices and standard 
terminology"

Don't

• Be vague or ambiguous
• Assume context is understood
• Request everything at once
• Ignore iterative improvement

Do

• Be specific and clear
• Provide relevant context
• Break down complex tasks
• Refine through iteration

High-Value Uses

• Initial brainstorming
• Structural organization
• Research summaries
• Draft expansion
• Final polish

Less Effective Uses

• Core creative decisions
• Personal voice development
• Factual verification
• Technical accuracy

Standalone Tools

• ChatGPT
• Claude
• Bard
• Custom APIs

Integrated Solutions

• Writing apps with AI features
• Browser extensions
• Document editor plugins
• Custom integrations

Key Principles

• AI as tool, not replacement
• Clear creative direction
• Regular human review
• Quality benchmarks

Quality Checks

• Voice consistency
• Factual accuracy
• Content originality
• Target audience fit

When to Disclose AI Use

• Academic submissions
• Professional publications
• Client deliverables
• Team collaborations

How to Disclose

Sample disclosure:
"This document was drafted with 
AI assistance and underwent 
human review and verification. 
All facts and figures have been 
independently checked."

Key Principles

• Clear ownership declaration
• Credit for human creativity
• Transparency about AI role
• Documentation of process

Documentation Example

Writing Process:
- Original concept: [Author]
- AI assistance: Structure, 
  research compilation
- Final content: Human-written
  with AI-enhanced editing
- Fact-checking: Manual 
  verification

Data Handling Guidelines

• No sensitive information in prompts
• Use private instances when needed
• Clear data retention policies
• Regular security reviews

Safe Practice Examples

✅ "Review this public blog post"
❌ "Check this internal memo"

✅ "Generic template review"
❌ "Client-specific content"

✅ "Industry standard process"
❌ "Proprietary workflow"

Guidelines

• Follow institutional policies
• Document AI assistance
• Maintain academic rigor
• Use appropriate citations

Acceptable Uses

• Research summarization
• Writing feedback
• Structure suggestions
• Grammar checking

Emerging Considerations

• Evolving AI capabilities and limitations
• New ethical guidelines and standards
• Industry-specific best practices
• Balancing innovation with responsibility

Stay informed about

• Policy updates
• Industry standards
• Best practices
• Tool capabilities

Easy Starting Points

• Email templates
• Meeting summaries
• Basic outlines
• Style improvements

Sample First Project

1. Take an existing email
2. Ask for 3 variations
3. Compare outputs
4. Mix and match best parts
5. Create template
Time invested: 10 minutes
Future time saved: Hours

Daily Practices

• Start with an outline
• Save successful prompts
• Document improvements
• Review AI outputs critically

Prompt Library

Create folders for:
- Email templates
- Document outlines
- Style guides
- Review checklists
- Process documentation

Time Management

• Batch similar tasks
• Create reusable templates
• Schedule AI sessions
• Track time savings

Cost Optimization

• Use appropriate models
• Draft offline first
• Combine related tasks
• Monitor usage patterns