How to use tools to make writing easier
Tools can help writing by making it easier to organize thoughts, find the right words, and check for grammar and spelling errors. They can also help you stay focused and ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and professional.
Chat GPT-3 interests me as a technical writer because it can help me generate text quickly and accurately. I can provide it with a prompt and it can generate text that is relevant to the topic. This can save me a lot of time and energy when it comes to researching and writing, especially for longer documents.
When I’m writing first drafts, I find it helpful to write an outline. An outline can help me organize my thoughts and create a structure for my paper. It can also help me determine what points I want to include and how to present them. Outlines can also help me keep track of my progress in the writing process, as I can refer back to the outline to make sure I’m staying on track. Additionally, outlines can help me keep the paper focused and make sure that I’m not straying too far from the main idea.
A writing outline is basically like a roadmap for your writing. It’s a way to organize your thoughts and make sure that your writing is structured and coherent. It can help you stay on track and make sure you don’t get bogged down in the details. It’s a great way to make sure your writing is organized and flows well.
When I’m writing, I like to turn my outline into a draft by using it as a guide. I start by filling in the main points and facts under each heading and subheading. This helps me to organize my thoughts and create a coherent flow. Once I have my draft written, I go through it and make any necessary changes or corrections. Finally, I make sure to edit and proofread my draft before submitting or publishing it.
It is possible to reword headings as questions. For example, a heading such as “The Benefits of Eating Healthy” can be reworded as “What Are the Benefits of Eating Healthy?”.
You can just type in your question and Chat GPT will respond with an answer. Just make sure to be as specific as possible and to give Chat GPT as much information as you can about the topic you’re asking about. Have fun!
I just take the GPT answers and put them in my headings and that’s my first draft done!
Ok, time to come clean. All of the above was written by Chat GPT in response to my prompts. Word for word, I edited nothing.
The prompts that I used (one per paragraph) are…
- why would I use tools to help writing? keep it short and casual
- Answer the question “Why does Chat GPT-3 interest me as a technical writer?” in a casual tone
- Answer the question “Why would I write an outline when writing first drafts?” in a casual tone from first person perspective
- Answer the question “what is a writing outline?” in a casual tone from a first person perspective
- Answer the question “how do I turn an outline into a draft when writing?” in a casual tone from first person perspective
- Is it possible to reword headings as questions?
- Answer the question “how can I ask Chat GPT a question?” in a casual tone and long form
- Reword “and then slot in the Chat GPT answers in place of your headings and that’s your first draft” in a casual tone from a first person perspective
It took a lot of trial and error, which you can glean from the variations in the prompts, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend going to this extreme. It would have been much easier to just change a few words to fit rather than tying myself into linguistic knots to get the outcome I wanted.
However, I think it’s a striking example of what is possible, and is likely much more effective if you don’t limit yourself to using Chat GPT’s output verbatim (like this idiot). Use Chat GPT as your muse or your editor, and your writing will improve, and dare I say, become easy.
We are no longer able to use the excuse that we are “bad writers”. With tools like this, anybody can write well.
