So you get a kind of generic, hedged response. It fills the space, but it doesn’t lock onto anything.
Same with:
“This doesn’t feel right, can you fix it?”
Fix what, exactly? Tone? Structure? Accuracy? Logic? You haven’t said. So it guesses. Sometimes well, sometimes not.
Now compare that with:
“Audit this paragraph for clarity and logical flow. Identify any vague phrasing and suggest specific rewrites.”
Or:
“Rewrite this in UK English, keeping the tone professional but conversational. Reduce redundancy and tighten sentence structure.”
Nothing fancy. Just explicit.
The output shifts almost immediately. It’s sharper, more deliberate. Less filler, more intent.
Words like “audit”, “analyse”, “rewrite”, “summarise” – they act like anchors. They tell the model what mode to enter. You’re not just asking for help; you’re defining the task.
Even small tweaks matter: