Set the contract
Central judgment. What should carry the most weight?
Supporting idea or mechanism. What must the reader understand underneath it?
Necessary qualification. What limit must survive?
Confidence. How strong is the evidence?
Secondary material. What is useful but must not dominate?
Final impression. What should remain after the last line?
Intended closure. Resolved, decision, warning, open question, or tension intentionally left open.
Audit the actual draft
Check where the draft places emphasis in each of these:
- title
- opening
- paragraph real estate
- concrete detail allocation
- repetition
- clause hierarchy
- short standalone sentences
- placement of caveats
- ending
Ask: If a reader remembers only three things, are they the three I intended?