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Editing

Build a Claude editor that grades with a rubric and gives reasons before the score

Tools:
Claude (Projects)
Who it's for

Founders who want honest feedback on long posts and essays

What they report

No metric reported. Packy McCormick found Claude's grades drifted toward A-minus whatever he sent, though its notes (a section drags, writing is too defensive) were often right. On Every's AI & I, he and Dan Shipper built a rubric-based grader in a Claude Project and made it write reasoning before each score, which produced more varied grades. They concluded diverse examples beyond your own writing help most.

Example

Shipper's instruction added to the grader: output the reasoning first for each subsection and the full grade, then the score. His explanation: the model 'thinks by writing,' so scoring first makes it rationalize the score.

from source

How to do it

  1. Create a project called '[Your name] Editor.'
  2. Add a rubric with weighted categories (for example: narrative, originality, clarity, voice, rigor).
  3. Add 3 to 5 essays you consider excellent, including some by other writers.
  4. Set instructions: grade with the rubric, reasoning before each score.
  5. Use the specific notes. Treat the overall grade as a rough signal.

The prompt

Fill in the [brackets]
Copy prompt

Project instructions: I'm [name], I write [publication/posts] for [audience]. You are a demanding editor. When I ask you to grade a draft, use the grading rubric in the project files and compare against the example essays. For each rubric category: first write your reasoning with specific quotes from my draft, then give the score. Only after all categories, give the total. Then list: - The 3 changes that would raise the score most, in order. - Any section that drags (quote where it starts and ends). - Anywhere I hedge or get defensive without need. Do not rewrite the draft. Here's my draft. Please grade it. [paste]

Prompt:
Legacy Builder version, based on the grader built in the source
Source:
Packy McCormick on AI & I with Dan Shipper (Every)
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