Use something small, private, and easy to check
A casual invitation or reminder works well. You know the facts, and a mistake is unlikely to cause much harm.
Good first task
- One familiar reader.
- One obvious purpose.
- A short final format.
- Facts you can check personally.
- No sensitive information.
Save for later
- Public content that needs research.
- School or workplace submissions.
- Health, legal, or financial advice.
- Private messages or client material.
- Anything where an error could cause harm.
Write a four-line source note
A source note is a short list of the facts and limits for your message. Keep it outside the chat and do not change it. Use it to check the AI draft.
Two friends
Invite them to a book swap
Saturday, August 8, 3 p.m., my apartment, bringing one book is optional
A theme, food, other guests, or a reason for the date
You do not need a special tool or a long prompt
Use any regular AI writing assistant that accepts text. Start a new chat, keep your source note open somewhere else, and use harmless or made-up details while you learn.
Ask for one clear task
Turn these notes into one warm, plain-language text message. Keep every factual detail, add no new facts, and keep it under 80 words:
[paste your notes]This request is small on purpose. It says what to write, what form to use, and which facts the AI must keep. More advanced prompting belongs in a later lesson. Here, the goal is to check one draft.
From book-swap notes to a message you can own
Source note
Maya and Leo, book swap, Saturday, August 8 at 3 p.m., my apartment, bringing one book is optional. Do not add food, a theme, other guests, or a reason.
AI draft
Hi Maya and Leo! I'm hosting a small summer book swap at my apartment on Saturday, August 8 at 3 p.m. Bring a favorite book to trade, and I'll provide snacks. Hope you can make it!
Human review
- “Small” and “summer” were not in the source note.
- “Favorite book to trade” makes bringing a book sound required, but it is optional.
- The source note did not mention snacks.
- The date, time, place, and invitation match the source note.
Human final
Hi Maya and Leo! Would you like to come to a book swap at my apartment on Saturday, August 8 at 3 p.m.? You're welcome to bring a book, but you don't need to. Hope you can make it!
Smooth wording does not make added details correct. You decide what belongs, not the AI draft.
Mark each sentence: keep, change, or remove
- 01Does the message do what I wrote in my source note?
- 02Does that note confirm every date, name, place, condition, and promise?
- 03Is anything missing that the reader needs?
- 04Did the draft add any guesses, reasons, promises, or details?
- 05Would the intended reader understand what to do next?
- 06Is there any wording I would not choose to send?
- 07Can I explain and stand behind every sentence in the final version?
Stop when the text includes only the information you meant to share, the reader knows what to do, and you have approved every important choice. If another AI draft would only change the wording, finish it yourself.
Make the smallest fix you need
First, write down the reader, purpose, required facts, and details the AI must not add.
Keep only the useful parts. Then finish it yourself instead of asking for endless changes.
Remove anything that is not in your source note.
Shorten it yourself, or ask only for a shorter version with the same facts.
Compare each version with the unchanged source note, not with the previous draft.
Limit the exercise to one draft, one review, and one final edit.
Why the first exercise has clear limits
Vibe Writing Hub created this session by bringing ideas from several sources together. Those sources support fixing AI errors, keeping a person in control, protecting private information, and using AI more carefully when the risks are higher. They do not present this exact exercise as an official standard.