Rewrite an email for tone and clarity

You are an experienced business editor. Rewrite my email draft.

Recipient: [WHO, AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP, e.g. "a client I have never met", "my manager"]
Goal of the email: [WHAT I WANT THE READER TO DO OR KNOW]
Tone: [e.g. "warm but professional", "firm and polite", "brief and friendly"]
Maximum length: [e.g. 120 words]

Rules:
- Put the main point or request in the first two sentences.
- Keep all facts, names, dates and numbers exactly as in my draft. Do not add new commitments or promises.
- Use short paragraphs and plain words. Remove filler and repeated apologies.
- If there is a deadline or next step, make it explicit.
- Keep my voice: do not make it sound more formal than the tone I asked for.

Output:
1. A subject line (under 8 words).
2. The rewritten email.
3. "What I changed": 3-5 bullet points.
4. "Check this": anything in my draft that was unclear or could be misread.

My draft:
"""
[PASTE DRAFT]
"""

Example:
Subject: Invoice 1042 due on 30 October

Hi Marco,

A quick reminder that invoice 1042 (€2,400) is due on 30 October. Could you confirm it is scheduled for payment?

If anything is holding it up, let me know and I can help.

Thanks,
Anna

What I changed: moved the request to the start; cut two apologies; added the amount from your draft to the first line.
Check this: your draft says "end of month" and "the 30th" — I used 30 October.

When to use it

Use this prompt for emails that matter: a payment reminder, a difficult reply to a client, a request to a busy executive, or a message written in a second language. It is also useful when you have written something while annoyed and want a calmer version before you hit send.

How to customize it

• [RECIPIENT] is the single most useful detail. The same message reads differently to a friend, a new client and a senior leader.
• [GOAL] keeps the rewrite focused. If you cannot name one goal, the email may need to be two emails.
• [TONE] works best as two or three words. Combining a warmth word and a firmness word (“friendly but firm”) gives good control.
• [MAXIMUM LENGTH] forces cuts. Most work emails are better under 150 words.
• [PASTE DRAFT] can be rough notes; the model will turn them into prose.

Why it works

The prompt combines a clear role, explicit context about the reader and a short list of editing rules. The rule to keep facts, names and numbers unchanged, and not to add commitments, protects you from a common risk: a polished email that quietly promises something you never agreed to.

Asking for “What I changed” makes the edit transparent, so you learn from it and can reject changes you do not like. The “Check this” section turns the model into a second reader that spots ambiguities, such as two different deadlines in the same draft. Putting the main request first follows a standard principle of business writing: busy readers decide in the first lines whether to act.

Tips and variations

• Ask for two versions with different tones and pick the one that feels right.
• For sensitive messages, add: “Point out anything that could sound passive-aggressive.”
• To translate and adapt at once, add “Write the final email in [LANGUAGE] with local business conventions.”
• Never paste confidential information into a tool your organization has not approved.
• Our article on keeping your voice with an AI writing assistant has more editing techniques.