Compose-Ready Drafting
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Compose-Ready Drafting

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Compose-Ready Drafting

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Instructions

Apply these conventions when creating a document that will be handed off to the Patriot University AI Assistant Compose tool for refinement — manual editing, additional research via Tavily, voice tuning, or structural expansion. The goal is a scaffold that gives Compose actionable prompts rather than a finished document that Compose has to deconstruct.

When to Use

  • A KB document, opinion piece, or profile is being drafted in Cursor or Claude Code but will be refined in Compose
  • The document requires research that is better done interactively (via Compose’s Tavily integration) than in batch
  • The document requires voice calibration that benefits from the author’s real-time review
  • The author wants to see structural options (multiple openings, alternative framings) before committing

When NOT to Use

  • The document will be published directly from Cursor/Claude Code with no Compose step
  • The document is a technical artifact (code, config, script) — markers are for prose documents only
  • The document is a simple update to an existing published article (edit in place, don’t scaffold)

Inline Marker Taxonomy

Six standardized markers signal specific Compose actions. Markers are always uppercase in square brackets, placed on their own line or inline after the relevant passage.

Marker Meaning Who Acts Compose Prompt
[RESEARCH NEEDED: topic] A factual gap requiring lookup — scholarly source, statistic, date, name, or finding Compose (via Tavily) or human “Fill in [RESEARCH NEEDED: topic]” or “Research [topic] and add findings”
[VERIFY: claim] A factual claim that may be correct but needs confirmation before publication Compose (via Tavily) or human “Verify [claim]” or “Fact-check this claim”
[EXPAND: direction] A section that needs more prose — the scaffold provides the skeleton, Compose fills in Compose or human “Expand this section [direction]”
[VOICE CHECK] A tone pivot point where the voice may drift — human review, not Compose auto-fix Human only Author reads aloud, adjusts manually
[OPENING OPTIONS] Multiple opening hooks provided for selection — author picks one, deletes the rest Human only Author reads options, selects, deletes rest
---SECTION BREAK--- Explicit structural boundary between major sections — aids navigation in long documents Structural (no action) Used for navigation, not as a prompt

Marker Syntax Rules

  • Markers use uppercase text in square brackets: [RESEARCH NEEDED: topic]
  • The colon-space after the marker type introduces a specific instruction: [VERIFY: McGuire 2003 effect sizes]
  • Markers without a colon are valid for types that don’t need specifics: [VOICE CHECK]
  • Place markers on their own line when they apply to a whole section
  • Place markers inline (after a sentence) when they apply to a specific claim
  • Section breaks use a triple-dash fence: ---SECTION BREAK---

Marker Placement Guidance

Location Marker Types Rationale
After a factual claim lacking a source [VERIFY: claim] or [RESEARCH NEEDED: source] Compose can fill the gap with Tavily
Before a section with skeleton prose [EXPAND: direction] Signals that the section is intentionally thin
At a tone pivot (formal to personal, analytical to reflective) [VOICE CHECK] Author attention needed — Compose shouldn’t auto-smooth these transitions
At the top of a document with multiple opening drafts [OPENING OPTIONS] Author picks the hook, deletes the rest
Between major thematic sections ---SECTION BREAK--- Navigation aid in long Compose sessions

Prose Density Targets

“Prose density” = the ratio of finished prose to total document length (including markers, skeleton headings, and placeholder text). The target varies by document type.

Document Type Target Density Rationale
Opinion piece 60-70% The voice, thesis, and argument arc should be substantially drafted; Compose refines tone and fills research gaps
KB companion / retrospective 50-60% Structure, verdicts, and evidence framework should be in place; Compose expands detail and verifies sources
Accountability profile 70-80% Most factual content drafted from KB/graph data; Compose verifies and adds nuance
Explainer / how-to 65-75% Core content drafted; Compose fills examples, edge cases, and cross-links
Breaking brief 80-90% Nearly complete — Compose does light fact-checking and formatting only

What Density Means in Practice

At 50% density: Half the document is scaffold — section headings with 1-2 sentence summaries, markers indicating where research or expansion is needed, structural placeholders. The architecture is complete; the prose is skeletal.

At 70% density: Most sections have substantive prose. Markers flag specific gaps (a missing citation, a claim to verify, a transition to polish) rather than whole sections to write.

At 90% density: The document is essentially complete. Markers flag only final verification items. Compose is doing quality assurance, not drafting.

Handoff Protocol

What the Drafting Tool (Cursor / Claude Code) Delivers

  1. Complete document structure — all sections, headings, and the logical arc of the argument
  2. YAML frontmatter (for KB documents) — slug, title, category, related links, status: draft
  3. Substantive prose at the target density — not placeholder text, but real sentences that establish the voice and argument
  4. All markers placed — every gap, verification need, expansion point, and voice-check flagged
  5. Multiple opening options (when applicable) — 2-3 different hooks for the author to choose from
  6. Source citations where available — even if incomplete, cite what you know and mark the rest [VERIFY]
  7. Cross-links — slug wikilinks to related KB documents, related: frontmatter entries

What Compose Does

  1. Fills [RESEARCH NEEDED] markers — via Tavily search or manual research
  2. Verifies [VERIFY] markers — confirms or corrects factual claims
  3. Expands [EXPAND] sections — adds prose following the direction indicated
  4. Human reviews [VOICE CHECK] points — reads aloud, adjusts tone manually
  5. Author selects from [OPENING OPTIONS] — picks one hook, deletes the rest
  6. Final polish — sentence-level editing, transition smoothing, citation formatting
  7. Status update — changes status: draft to status: review when satisfied

What Compose Does NOT Do

  • Restructure the document’s architecture (that’s the drafting tool’s job)
  • Change the argument or thesis (that’s the author’s job)
  • Remove markers without addressing them (markers are accountable — they’re removed only when resolved)
  • Publish (status goes to review, not published — human makes the final call)

Compose-Specific Conventions

Searchable Marker Prompts

Compose users can search for markers by type:

  • Search [RESEARCH NEEDED to find all research gaps
  • Search [VERIFY to find all claims needing confirmation
  • Search [EXPAND to find all sections needing more prose
  • Search [VOICE CHECK to find all tone pivot points

Marker Resolution

When a marker is resolved, delete it entirely. Do not leave resolved markers in the document — they create noise. If a marker is partially resolved, update it:


Before: [RESEARCH NEEDED: McGuire 2003 effect sizes]
After partial resolution: [VERIFY: McGuire reports R² of 0.34 — confirm this is for Convention votes specifically]
After full resolution: (marker deleted, prose reads "McGuire's analysis of Convention roll-call votes yielded an R² of 0.34...")

Progressive Density

A document’s density should increase monotonically through the Compose session. If density drops (e.g., new markers are added faster than old ones are resolved), something is wrong — the document is being expanded without being completed.

Anti-Patterns

  • Over-marking: Placing a marker after every sentence. If the document is more markers than prose, the density is too low and the drafting tool didn’t do enough work. Aim for 8-15 markers in a 3,000-word document, not 40.
  • Under-marking: Delivering a document with no markers and calling it “Compose-ready.” If there’s nothing for Compose to do, publish it directly.
  • Placeholder abuse: Writing [EXPAND: write this section] instead of drafting the section’s skeleton prose. The marker should indicate a direction for expansion, not delegate the entire section.
  • Markers as comments: Using markers to narrate the drafting process ([NOTE TO SELF: check this later]). Markers are Compose-actionable prompts, not editorial asides.
  • Mixing markers with prose: Writing The effect size [RESEARCH NEEDED] was significant [VERIFY]. Markers should be on their own line or clearly set off from the prose, not jammed inline where they break reading flow.
  • Forgetting voice checks: [VOICE CHECK] markers are the most commonly omitted. Place them at every transition where the voice shifts register — formal to personal, analytical to reflective, evidence-heavy to interpretive. These are the points where AI-generated prose most often drifts.
  • Skipping the handoff: Sending a document to Compose without explaining what the markers mean. If the Compose user hasn’t read this skill, include a brief legend at the top of the document.

Cross-References

Related skills:

  • patriot-opinion-voice — voice calibration for opinion documents
  • patriot-editorial-framework — institutional voice for KB documents
  • scholarship-retrospective — methodology that frequently produces Compose-ready drafts
  • citation-checker — post-Compose citation verification
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