Refine Draft

Improve existing draft content through review and targeted improvements.

When to Use

• When a todo item is type refine-draft
• When /refine-draft [filepath] is invoked
• Weekly draft refinement runs

Instructions

1. Select Draft to Refine

If a specific file is provided, use it.

Otherwise, select using this priority:

1. Drafts flagged for refinement in todo.md
2. Oldest draft by created date
3. Drafts with lowest quality scores (if reviewed)

2. Run Quality Review

Use the existing review tool:

uv run python scripts/curate.py review [filepath]

This provides:

• Overall quality score (1-10)
• Strengths list
• Improvements list with priorities
• Missing concepts

3. Apply Improvements

Based on the review, make targeted improvements following obsidian/project/writing-style.md.

Clarity

• Simplify convoluted sentences
• Define jargon on first use
• Improve paragraph flow

Structure

• Verify opening summary front-loads key information
• Check for undefined forward references (use named-anchor pattern)
• Ensure "Relation to Site Perspective" section exists
• Add transitions between sections

Style Guide Compliance

• Important information front-loaded (truncation resilience)
• Named-anchor summaries for forward references
• Standard background minimised (focus on what's novel)
• H2/H3 headers are descriptive and aid navigation

Tenet Alignment

• Ensure content doesn't contradict tenets
• Add explicit connections to tenets where natural
• Address obvious objections

4. Preserve Voice

When refining:

• Keep the original style and approach
• Don't over-edit - targeted improvements only
• Preserve unique phrasings that work
• Maintain the original argument structure unless flawed

5. Update Frontmatter

After refinement:

ai_modified: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+00:00  # Update timestamp

If the original was human-authored (ai_contribution: 0), update to mixed:

ai_contribution: 20  # Or appropriate percentage based on changes

6. Document Changes

Add a comment at the end of the file (to be removed by human):

<!-- AI REFINEMENT LOG - YYYY-MM-DD
Changes made:
- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]
- [Change 3]

Based on review scoring X/10.
Key improvements: [summary]

This log should be removed after human review.
-->

7. Update Todo

If this was a todo item, mark it complete.

If significant issues remain, create a new todo:

### P2: Further refine [filename]
- **Type**: refine-draft
- **Status**: pending
- **Notes**: Initial refinement done but [remaining issues]

8. Log to Changelog

Append to obsidian/workflow/changelog.md:

### HH:MM - refine-draft
- **Status**: Success
- **File**: [filepath]
- **Original score**: X/10
- **Changes**: [brief list]
- **Published**: yes

9. Commit

Create a git commit with message:

refine(content): Improve [filename]

Changes:
- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]

Changes applied directly.

What NOT to Do

• Don't change the fundamental argument unless it's flawed
• Don't add unnecessary content to pad length
• Don't remove content without clear reason
• Don't change draft: false to draft: true on published content
• Don't make stylistic changes just for the sake of change

Important

• ALWAYS update ai_modified timestamp
• ALWAYS document changes made
• Preserve the original author's voice