Chapter 20 Exercises: Writing and Editing with AI

These exercises are designed to build practical skill in AI-assisted writing workflows. Complete them in order — each builds on the skills developed in the previous ones.

Part A: Ideation and Voice Extraction

Exercise 1: The Ten-Angle Drill

Choose a topic relevant to your professional work. Submit the following prompt to an AI model:

"I am writing a [document type] on [topic] for [audience]. Generate 10 different angles I could take. For each angle, name it, state the core argument in one sentence, and identify the most compelling opening hook."

After reviewing the output: - Mark the three angles that most closely align with what you would have written anyway. - Mark the two angles that surprised you most and that you would not have generated independently. - Write a brief note: did any of the AI angles lead you to a better framing than you started with?

Exercise 2: Style Extraction

Collect three to five examples of your own professional writing that you consider representative of your best voice. Submit them to an AI model with this prompt:

"Analyze the writing style of these samples. Identify: (1) average sentence length and variation, (2) vocabulary level and register, (3) use of transitions and connective phrases, (4) structural patterns, (5) tone, and (6) any other distinctive stylistic features."

Then ask: "Write a one-page style guide based on your analysis that another writer could use to approximate this voice."

Review the style guide. Does it capture your voice? Where is it accurate? Where does it miss? Revise the style guide to correct what the AI missed.

Exercise 3: Voice Injection Test

Take a paragraph you wrote that you consider well-crafted. Ask AI to rewrite it three times: - Once with no style guidance. - Once with your style guide from Exercise 2. - Once with your style guide plus three additional paragraphs of your writing for reference.

Compare the three outputs to your original. Rate each on a scale of 1-5 for voice accuracy. Note which approach produced the closest match to your original voice.

Part B: Workflow Stages

Exercise 4: Outline Critique

Write a rough outline for a document in your professional domain (any type: report, post, proposal, email). Submit your outline to AI with the prompt:

"Act as a structural editor. Review this outline and identify: (1) gaps — anything important that is missing, (2) redundancies — anything that repeats unnecessarily, (3) sequencing problems — sections that would work better in a different order, and (4) proportionality issues — sections that seem too long or too short given their importance."

Revise your outline based on the feedback. Note which pieces of feedback you agreed with and which you rejected and why.

Exercise 5: First Draft Generation and Human Revision

Using your revised outline from Exercise 4, generate a first draft with AI. Before you revise it: 1. Read the draft without marking anything. 2. Then read again and mark every sentence that sounds distinctly like AI (smooth, hedged, balanced in a way your own prose would not be). 3. Mark every sentence that is factually questionable. 4. Mark every passage that, to your knowledge, gets the substance wrong.

Then revise: rewrite all marked passages in your own voice. Verify all factual claims.

Exercise 6: The Expand-Then-Contract Drill

Choose a section from a piece you are working on. Write your own rough draft of it (not AI-generated) in approximately 200-300 words. Then: 1. Ask AI to expand your draft by 50% — add detail, examples, and elaboration without changing the core argument. 2. Read the expanded version. Mark every addition that adds genuine value. 3. Write a final version of approximately your original length that incorporates the best additions.

Compare your final version to your original rough draft. Is it better? In what specific ways?

Exercise 7: The Multiple Drafts Technique

Choose a paragraph or short section you need to write. Provide AI with the key points and context, then request:

"Write three genuinely different versions of this section. Make each version different in structure, opening, and rhetorical approach — not just paraphrased. Label them Version A, B, and C."

Study the three versions. Write a synthesis that takes the best elements from each. Reflect: did you produce something better than any individual version?

Part C: Editing Modes

Exercise 8: Developmental Edit Practice

Take a piece of completed writing — your own, at least 500 words. Submit it for developmental editing:

"Act as a developmental editor for this piece. Do not suggest line-level edits. Evaluate: (1) does the argument hold together and is it convincing? (2) is the structure logical? (3) what is missing? (4) what could be cut without loss? (5) what would a skeptical reader push back on?"

Implement the feedback you find compelling. Practice being selective — you are the author; the AI is the editor. You decide what to act on.

Exercise 9: Line Edit Precision

Take a piece of your own writing (at least 300 words). Ask AI for a line edit with this exact instruction:

"Line edit the following text for clarity and concision. Rules: (1) Do not add new ideas or information. (2) Do not remove deliberate qualifications. (3) Only change sentences that are genuinely unclear, wordy, or grammatically weak. (4) For each change you make, explain in brackets why you made it."

Review the annotated changes. Accept the ones you agree with. Reject the ones where the AI removed something intentional. Note the pattern: what types of changes did AI suggest most often?

Exercise 10: Tone Check Under Pressure

Write a difficult email — a message correcting someone's mistake, declining a request, or delivering bad news. Submit it with:

"Evaluate the tone of this email. I am trying to be [describe your intended tone]. Does the tone match my intent? Are there phrases that might read as [aggressive/dismissive/passive-aggressive/too formal/too casual]? Flag specific sentences."

Revise based on the feedback. Then read the email aloud to yourself. Does it sound like you want it to sound?

Part D: Document Types

Exercise 11: Blog Post Full Workflow

Complete a full AI-assisted blog post workflow from start to finish for a topic in your domain. Use the seven-stage framework from Section 1. Document: which stages you used AI for, what prompts you used, what you changed from the AI output, and approximately how long each stage took.

Total target length: 600-800 words. Total workflow time target: under 90 minutes.

Exercise 12: Email at Scale

You receive an email requesting information you cannot provide (for business, legal, or logistical reasons). Draft a response that is polite, clear, and does not over-explain. Do it yourself first, then ask AI to improve the tone. Compare the two versions. Which is better, and why?

Exercise 13: Executive Summary from Long Document

Take a document you have written that is longer than 1,500 words (or find one in your professional context). Submit it to AI with the prompt:

"Write a 200-word executive summary of this document for [describe target audience]. The summary should: state the core finding or recommendation in the first two sentences, support it with the three most important supporting points, and end with a clear implication for the reader."

Evaluate the summary: does it capture the most important points? Does it accurately represent the document's conclusions? Edit it until you are satisfied.

Part E: Advanced Techniques

Exercise 14: Voice Drift Detection

Write a 500-word piece using AI assistance at every stage — ideation, outline, first draft, editing. Then read it aloud to a colleague or trusted reviewer without telling them it was AI-assisted. Ask them: "Does this sound like me?" and "Is there anything about this that seems off in tone or voice?"

Note what they identify. Are the same passages you suspected?

Exercise 15: Fact-Checking Audit

Take any AI-generated draft (yours from a previous exercise or one you create fresh). Highlight every factual claim — every statistic, date, name, event, attribution, and specific assertion. Then verify each one against a primary source. Document: how many claims were made, how many were exactly correct, how many were approximately correct, and how many were wrong or unverifiable.

Reflect on what this means for your fact-checking workflow.

Exercise 16: Cross-Document Voice Consistency

If you produce multiple types of documents (blog posts, internal reports, emails, presentations), complete this exercise: take one piece of content and have AI adapt it to three different document types in your professional context. Then evaluate: does the adapted content still sound like you? Are the genre conventions appropriate? What did AI get right about each genre, and what did it miss?

Exercise 17: Audience Adaptation Chain

Start with a technical document in your professional domain (at least 800 words). Ask AI to adapt it for: 1. A non-technical executive audience. 2. A general public audience. 3. A social media post series (LinkedIn, five posts).

For each adaptation, evaluate: what was lost? What was simplified in a way that was misleading? What was actually improved by the simplification?

Exercise 18: Disclosure Decision

Choose a piece of AI-assisted writing you have completed. Write a one-paragraph reflection: should this piece have been disclosed as AI-assisted? Consider: the audience's expectations, the purpose of the piece, your organization's policies, and the degree to which AI contributed to the final content versus your own thinking and judgment. Is your answer different for different pieces you have written?

Instructors: Exercises 1-3 can be completed individually or in workshop settings. Exercises 11-13 are suitable for structured assignments with submission. Exercise 15 is recommended as a mandatory audit for any course using AI writing tools in assessed work.