Workflows

Uni-edit workflows

Concrete recipes for the work we actually do. Each one is a starting point — adapt the wording.

Improving a manuscript's English

Attach the file, then:

This is an academic manuscript by a non-native English speaker. Improve the clarity and flow of the English. Do not change technical terminology, citations, figures, author names or the reference list. If a technical term looks incorrect, list it at the end rather than changing it. When you are finished, list every change you made and anything you could not preserve.

Then check the list it gives you against the document. It will not volunteer what it broke.

Explaining an editing decision to a customer

A customer has asked why their manuscript needs a second round of editing. Help me explain it warmly and concretely, without implying their writing was poor. Around 120 words. Do not promise a date or a price.

Drafting an email to an editor

Write a short, friendly email to a freelance editor asking whether they can take a job this week. Under 150 words. Ask for a specific date. Leave a blank marked [ ] for anything I have not told you — do not invent a fee, a deadline or a job number.

The "leave a blank" instruction matters. Without it, it will cheerfully invent a rate.

Translating your own working notes

Translate these notes into natural, professional Japanese. They are internal working notes, not customer-facing. Keep the meaning exact; prefer clarity over elegance.

Note: this is for your own notes. A customer's deliverable translation is professional work with our name on it and should be treated as such, not handed to a chatbot and sent on.

Comparing two versions of a document

Attach both, then:

Compare these two versions. Produce a table of what changed: names, dates, figures, links, and any section added or removed. Do not rewrite anything.

Summarising a long document or a meeting

Summarise this in five bullet points, then list any decision that was made and anything that was left unresolved.

The second half is the useful part — a plain summary usually loses the decisions.

Preparing a handover

I am handing this project to a colleague. From these notes, write a handover covering: what the job is, what has been done, what is outstanding, who the contacts are, and anything that could go wrong. Flag anything I have not given you enough information about.

Marketing and website copy

Write three versions of this paragraph for our website: one plain and factual, one warmer, one shorter. British spelling. Do not make any claim about results, speed or price that is not in my original text.

That last clause matters — marketing copy is where invented claims are most likely and most damaging.


Two habits worth forming

Give it constraints before you give it the task. What not to change is more useful than what to change.

Ask it what it did. "List the changes you made, and anything you could not preserve." Thirty seconds, and it is the difference between a helpful tool and a silent liability.