LocalBridge

Writing template - 3 to 8 tabs

Draft from sources prompt template

The risk with AI drafting is not bad prose. It is plausible sentences that no source actually supports, which are then very hard to find later.

The prompt

Write a first draft using only the sources I am giving you.

What I want: [FORMAT AND AUDIENCE, e.g. a 700-word explainer for non-technical readers]

Structure:
- Open with the single most useful thing the sources establish. No throat-clearing.
- Body organised by idea, not by source.
- Close with what remains uncertain.

Rules:
- Every factual sentence ends with the source number in brackets.
- If you want to write a sentence no source supports, put it in an "unsupported" list at the bottom instead of in the draft.
- Keep the sources' own numbers and dates exactly. Do not round or restate them.
- Plain language. No "in today's fast-paced world", no "it is important to note".

After the draft, list every direct quote you used with its source number.

Why this prompt is written this way

Organising by idea rather than by source is what separates a draft from a stitched-together summary, and assistants default to the latter unless told.

The 'unsupported' list is the important instruction. It gives the assistant somewhere to put the sentence it wants to write, instead of quietly slipping it into the draft.

Preserving numbers exactly matters because rounding is where quiet factual drift starts, and it is almost invisible on review.

Getting more out of it

  • Name the audience. 'For non-technical readers' changes the draft far more than any instruction about tone.
  • Read the unsupported list first. It usually contains the most interesting claim, which you can then go and verify.
  • Ask for the outline before the draft when the piece is long. Fixing structure in an outline costs one message.
  • Delete the citation brackets at the end rather than the start. They are the only way to audit the draft.

Works best with

3 to 8 tabs open at once. Send them together rather than one at a time, so the assistant can compare them instead of forgetting the first by the time it reads the last. Sending tabs to Claude explains the options.

Common questions

Will the draft be publishable as it is?
No. Treat it as a structured first pass that has already done the sourcing work. The editing you do is what makes it yours.
How do I stop it inventing sources?
Number the sources you send and require a number on every factual sentence. An invented claim then has nowhere to attach, which makes it stand out.
Can I use my own notes as one of the sources?
Yes, and it works well. Label them clearly so you can tell in the draft which claims came from you rather than from the pages.

Other templates

Stop pasting tabs one by one

LocalBridge sends the pages you have open into Claude or ChatGPT in one click, so this template gets the sources it needs.

See how it works