Checking If You Were Clear

Good writers always re-read what they write before they share it. A chef tastes the soup before bringing it to the table. A builder checks the measurements before making a cut. These are all examples of the same great habit: checking your work. In this lesson, we are going to learn how to check a description before sending it to an AI — so you can catch confusing parts and fix them first.

How to Check a Description

Here is a simple three-step check you can do on any description you write. Step 1 — Read it slowly. Do not rush. Read every word as if you are reading it for the very first time. Step 2 — Pretend you are the AI. You know nothing except what is written in the description. Does this description give you enough to work with? What would you create from it? Step 3 — Ask the Stranger Question: if a complete stranger read this, would they picture the same thing you picture? If not, something is missing or unclear. If you find a fuzzy spot, fix it before you send. It only takes a moment, and it saves a lot of back-and-forth.

Let's practice with a real description. Description: 'Write a story about a kid and a pet who go on an adventure somewhere exciting.' Step 1 — Read slowly. OK, we have a kid, a pet, an adventure, somewhere exciting. Step 2 — Pretend you are the AI. What kind of kid? What pet? What adventure? Where is 'somewhere exciting'? The AI would have to guess a lot. Step 3 — Stranger Question. A stranger could picture almost anything — a girl with a goldfish, a boy with a horse, a toddler with a hamster. All of those match this description! Fix: 'Write a short adventure story about a 9-year-old girl named Zara and her pet iguana, Spike, who discover a hidden cave on the beach behind their grandmother's house.' Now a stranger would picture almost exactly the same thing you picture. That is a description that has passed the check.

Checking your description is also a great habit when you are not happy with a result. Instead of just sending it again and hoping for a better answer, look at your description first. Often the problem is hiding right there — a missing word, a vague phrase, or a question that was never answered.