Writing and analysis with Claude

When you finish, you can use Claude to draft, edit, think through a problem and check its own work.

Drafting in your own voice

Claude writes smoothly, but smooth is not the same as yours. Give it a sample: "Here are two emails I wrote. Match this tone." Tell it what to avoid, such as long words or sales language. Then edit the result so it sounds like you would say it out loud.

Weak: "Write a cover letter." Strong: "Write a half-page cover letter for a warehouse supervisor job. I have six years running a small team at a food distributor. Keep it plain and confident. Here is the job post: [paste]. Use only the facts I gave you." The last sentence matters. It stops Claude from inventing experience.

Editing, not just writing

Claude is often more useful as an editor. Paste your draft and say what kind of help you want: "Fix grammar only," "Make it half as long," or "Point out anything confusing, but do not rewrite it." Choosing the kind of edit keeps your meaning intact.

Ask it to explain its changes. "List the five biggest changes you made and why." This helps you learn, and it shows you if Claude changed a fact by accident. If you write in a second language, ask it to keep your style but fix errors, so your writing improves instead of being replaced.

Analysis: thinking partner, not judge

For analysis, give Claude the data or the situation and a clear question. "Here are my shop's weekly sales for ten weeks. Which weeks look unusual, and what could explain them? List what you would need to confirm." Notice the last line. It asks Claude to separate what it sees from what it is guessing.

With numbers, remember that AI can make arithmetic mistakes. Ask it to show its steps, and check totals with a calculator or spreadsheet. Ask for the opposite view too: "What is the strongest argument against this plan?" That makes Claude a useful sparring partner.

A checking routine

Build a short routine you use every time the output matters. First, check names, dates and numbers against the source. Second, ask Claude, "What in your answer are you least sure about?" Third, ask for a source you can look up, then look it up. Claude may name sources that do not exist, so confirm they are real.

Finally, decide who is accountable. If you will sign it, send it, or act on it, you must be able to explain every line. If you cannot, ask Claude to explain it until you can, or leave it out.

Practice now

Take a paragraph you wrote and ask Claude for three kinds of edit separately: grammar only, shorter, and clearer. Compare the results.
Give Claude a small set of real numbers from your life, such as monthly bills. Ask what stands out, then check its arithmetic yourself.

Use any AI assistant you have. Do not paste private, client or patient information into it.

Check yourself

1. Why add the line 'use only the facts I gave you' to a cover letter request?

2. What should you do with numbers in an AI analysis?

3. Which prompt makes Claude a useful sparring partner?

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Next lesson: Making things: documents, pages and visual outputs

AI-drafted. Checked by an automated validator and a separate AI reviewer; a person has not read every lesson. Translations and tutor answers are AI-made. Found a mistake? Tell us. AI can be wrong. General information only, not professional advice. Not affiliated with any AI company named. Current University is not accredited.