Structure: keep the source's sequence when it carries reasoning
Preserve source sequence when the sequence carries reasoning. Use thematic grouping when that is explicitly intended, but do not imply connections the source did not make.
Evidence: the source itself
Distinguish source claim, source evidence, your annotation, and any external verification.
Prose: remove the machinery, keep the substance
Remove transcript machinery. Preserve distinctive language sparingly. Keep uncertainty, disagreements, examples, and useful digressions.
Ending: stop where the source stops
Finish where the source's argument or selected theme finishes. Do not add a synthetic lesson unless the task asks for analysis.
Main risks
Watch for these failures:
- summary replacing faithful prose
- invented connective claims
- smoothing away the speaker's uncertainty
- close paraphrase without a clear source boundary
- compression that makes the document a substitute for the original commercial work
AI role: clean under strict constraints, then audit
Cleaning and restructuring under strict fidelity constraints, followed by a source audit.
For the method in full, see Module 30: Source-faithful transformation.