How to improve your editorial content with ChatGPT and backward design

You might write something—an article, a social media comment, or an email—that's technically sound, but you feel like something's missing. In an attempt to figure out what's broken, you try everything: you move paragraphs around, you reread it ad nauseam, and yet... There's an incredible method that shows you exactly where your text falls short in just a few minutes and how to fix it: reverse engineering , but with the help of ChatGPT .

What is backward design and why does it work?

Backward planning is the opposite of what everyone does. Instead of creating an outline before writing, you analyze a completed text to verify what was actually communicated. The process is actually simpler than it might seem. You read each paragraph of the text and reduce the main idea to a single sentence. When you put all these sentences together, you get a map of what you wrote, not what you thought you wrote...

This technique reveals invisible problems during the writing process : paragraphs that stray off-topic, arguments that repeat themselves in different ways, missing logical steps, conclusions that don't make sense. The traditional method requires time and objectivity. You have to distance yourself from the text, reread it critically, and summarize each section without bias. ChatGPT does all this automatically, quickly, without the emotional attachment that blinds you to what's wrong.

The basic prompt for ChatGPT

For the basic prompt , simply paste the text into ChatGPT and type: Create a backward draft of this article. For each paragraph, provide: 1) A one-sentence summary of the main point, 2) The function this paragraph plays in the overall argument, 3) Any structural issues you notice.

This prompt provides a comprehensive overview of the content structure and highlights problem areas. ChatGPT not only identifies what each paragraph says, but also explains why it's there and whether it actually serves the purpose of the text.

Five specialized prompts for specific problems

To check the narrative flow: Analyze this text and provide: 1) A point-by-point outline of the main idea of ​​each paragraph, 2) Does the narrative form a coherent flow? 3) Where does the narrative digress or become repetitive? 4) What gaps exist in the logical flow?

This prompt is perfect for identifying where your argument is losing steam or lacking precision. ChatGPT tells you exactly where the reader might lose track.

To test relevance for your audience: “I’m writing for people who feel stuck in their careers. Create a backwards design that evaluates: 1) The main message of each paragraph, 2) Whether each section resonates with this audience, 3) Where it doesn’t address their key concerns, 4) Suggestions for better emotional connection.

This approach ensures that the content truly aligns with the needs and concerns of your target audience, rather than remaining generic.

To identify content gaps: Based on this backwards planning, what are the three biggest structural improvements I should make? For each suggestion, explain specifically how you would implement the change.

This prompt is perfect after you have your initial outline to focus on practical, concrete revision strategies.

For serial content: I'm writing a multi-part series on finding your purpose in life. Create a backwards plan that evaluates: 1) How this post can generate new insights, 2) Whether this post works on its own, 3) Gaps future posts should address.

The ideal approach when working on content that is part of a larger project or that could generate in-depth articles.

When AI sees what we don't see

ChatGPT is so good at backward design because it's not emotionally involved with the text. When we reread what we've written, we struggle to be objective. We become attached to the sentences that turned out well, those paragraphs that took a lot of effort to write, and often we don't see the problems because we're too "inside" the text.

AI, on the other hand, reads content without these biases. It doesn't care if a sentence is poetic if it doesn't serve its purpose. It's not influenced by the time spent on a section if it doesn't work. It evaluates everything based solely on one question: does it help the reader understand better?

This “cold” but precise approach identifies problems you might never see: concepts that repeat themselves without realizing it, logical connections that exist only in your head, elegant transitions that don’t actually connect anything.

Backward design with ChatGPT for email, presentations, and video content

Backward design with ChatGPT isn't limited to articles. You can use it to analyze PowerPoint presentations . For example, you can ask OpenAI's chatbot to summarize the main message of each slide and evaluate whether the progression makes sense.

It also works well for important emails , especially long ones to clients or colleagues, to ensure that each paragraph advances the message rather than digressing. It's also useful for video content : you can transcribe the main sections and apply the reverse engineering to see if the narrative maintains attention or if there are any redundant parts that need to be eliminated.

Sometimes ChatGPT identifies so many issues that the list seems daunting. In these cases, you can ask them to prioritize: What are the three most serious problems affecting the clarity of the text? Focusing on the major issues often automatically solves the minor ones. A misplaced paragraph, for example, can cause confusion; fixing it improves the overall flow.

Writing thus becomes a two-stage process: free creation in the first draft, ruthless structural analysis in the revision. ChatGPT makes the second stage quick, objective, and effective.