31 AI prompts that go beyond the simple "rewrite" request

One of the top uses for AI text generators is to “rewrite” text. Maybe you’ve got marketing material to beef up. Or an old blog article to revitalize. Or maybe you’re a student with an essay due tomorrow. So you hit “Rewrite”.

Whatever your circumstances are, chances are you’re not seeing the results you want. That’s why I’m here, to share my favorite prompts from my stash.

A.I. Prompts: You get what you ask for 

A.I. seems like a magic genie for writers. It’s almost like we have a new world of content available at the press of a button. It’s all for the asking.

That’s why it’s frustrating when A.I. output doesn’t work. The issues arise when we don’t know how to ask the content generators for what we want.

A big part of prompt whispering is working out “wishes”. A good prompt engineer will frame a prompt precisely and choose their words carefully. How we ask, and the subtext of the words, are as important as the ‘what’.

The most common cry for help I hear is: “Why does rewrite just repeat?”

Why “Rewrite” is not a powerful prompt:

Sometimes (but not always) a prompt like this just results in a carbon copy:

Rewrite the above article

People wonder why it won’t give them an entirely new piece of content.

But put yourself in the A.I.’s shoes, or better yet, Bart Simpson’s. When you give it a sentence and ask it to rewrite it, AI takes it literally and repeats it:

Even if you ask a human personal assistant to “rewrite” a draft for you, it doesn’t mean all-new original content, or starting from scratch. Usually it means a second run-through or a polish. Unfortunately, when the AI takes your command literally, it can result in verbatim content and plagiarism.

Even at the best of times, “rewrite” generates a pale imitation.

Typing “completely rewrite” doesn’t work either, if it has fundamentally mistaken the meaning of “rewrite”. Neither does “Use completely new words”, because let’s be honest, you don’t want a new vocabulary — many keywords should remain the same (as should the conjunctions, articles, prepositions, etc). In reality, you just want it to look and sound original.

Choosing the right words matters in prompt engineering

So what’s the solution? Simple: being precise and intentional with language and word choices. I’ve said from the start of this A.I. revolution: AI won’t replace writing skills. Natural language processing (NLP) makes how we articulate ourselves a more important and marketable skill set than ever.

AI will turn average writers into good writers, good writers into amazing ones, and amazing writers into prolific ones.

(but it will make bad writers worse than before)

Ask yourself what you really want before you prompt

“Rewrite” is bland and vague. If that’s all you prompt, your output’s going to be lackluster. Garbage in, Garbage out (or as I prefer: “Gold in, Gold out”).

Try to spice it up and express your editorial needs clearly. Remember, we need to be doing something to the language for the best results. And what are “doing” words? That’s right, verbs. So use descriptive verbs. For example:

31 AI Prompts that are better than “Rewrite”

1. Paraphrase: This is useful when you want to avoid plagiarism
2. Reframe: Change the perspective or focus of the rewrite.
3. Summarize: When you want a quick overview of a lengthy topic.
4. Expand: For a more comprehensive understanding of a topic.
5. Explain: Make the meaning of something clearer in the rewrite.
6. Reinterpret: Provide a possible meaning or understanding.
7. Simplify: Reduce the complexity of the language.
8. Elaborate: Add more detail or explanation to a given point.
9. Amplify: Strengthen the message or point in the rewrite.
10. Clarify: Make a confusing point or statement clearer.
11. Adapt: Modify the text for a different audience or purpose.
12. Modernize: Update older language or concepts to be more current.
13. Formalize: This asks to rewrite informal or casual language into a more formal or professional style. Useful for business or academic contexts.
14. Informalize: Use this for social media posts, blogs, email campaigns, or any context where a more colloquial style and relaxed tone is right.
15. Condense: Make the rewrite shorter by restricting it to key points.
16. Emphasize/Reiterate: Highlight certain points more than others.
17. Diversify: Add variety, perhaps in sentence structure or vocabulary.
18. Neutralize: Remove bias or opinion, making the text more objective.
19. Streamline: Remove unnecessary content or fluff.
20. Enrich/Embellish: Add more pizzazz or detail to the rewrite.
21. Illustrate: Provide examples to better explain the point.
22. Synthesize: Combine different pieces of information.
23. Sensationalize: Make the rewrite more dramatic. Great for clickbait!
24. Humanize: Make the text more relatable or personal. Great for blogs!
25. Elevate: Prompt for a rewrite that is more sophisticated or impressive.
26. Illuminate: Prompt for a rewrite that is crystal-clear or enlightening.
27. Enliven/Energize: Means make the text more lively or interesting.
28. Soft-pedal: Means to downplay or reduce the intensity of the text.
29. Exaggerate: When you want to hype-up hyperbole in the rewrite. Great for sales pitches (just watch those pesky facts)!
30. Downplay: When you want a more mellow, mild-mannered tone. Great for research, and no-nonsense evidence-based testimonials.
31. Glamorize: Prompt to make the rewrite sexier and more appealing.

Using words wisely when prompt engineering

As you can see, there’s a myriad of options. Some adjust according to the intended audience, some transform the text, and others play with words.

Remember: the language you use in your prompt is a parameter in itself that influences output (this skill set is the mark of a true AI Whisperer).

So try to select verbs with a tone that matches the desired effect. “Jazz up” not only tells the AI what to do (making it more interesting and exciting) but also conveys the energy in which to do it (in a fun and informal way). This lets you bundle more attributes — including sentiment — into your prompts.

Other methods to improve rewriting text using AI

Another aspect you should add is to state your goals and priorities. If you want the information rewritten in a particular format, specify this in the prompt. For instance, if you want a list, prompt with “Please simplify the above into bullet points…”. Whereas, if you want a detailed paragraph, prompt “Please provide an explanatory paragraph elaborating on…”

One of my all-time favorite go-to prompts is:

Reinterpret the above from an X perspective, for publication as Y

X could be your intended audience (e.g. consumers, Americans, youth), or a certain mindset or ideology (business-oriented, environmentalist, etc).

Y is the type of content you’d like to create (e.g. eBook, article, email, blog, social media post, marketing material, etc). Modify and adapt the prompt!

Big-Little-Big

Another way to avoid repetition in rewriting an article is to break it down into smaller components, then build it back into something new. This isn’t a Zero-Shot Prompt; it requires Chain Prompting. But it’s a powerful tool.

We call this “Big-Little-Big” because you take something large, pare it down to the bare bones, and then flesh it out again to create an entirely new text. The process should remove repetition because we’ve transformed the text.

First, have your AI summarize or bullet-point the source. Ideally, you want it totally stripped (no verbatim quotes or snippets of text). Then use this as the Seed or building blocks for generating fresh content. You may want to generate this in another conversation so it cannot look back to the source.

Changing the tone of voice in a rewrite

Remember at school being instructed to rewrite a subject “In your own words?” The same rule of paraphrasing applies when generating AI text.

Ask it to use a specific tone of voice. This can even be your own tone. Not sure how to extract your unique writing style or brand voice? I’ve got you covered. Check out this solution (great for both businesses and students):

When we ask the AI to match a personality, we encourage a more extensive rewrite of the material. It adds more individuality to the language patterns.