Build an article outline from a reader's question

When to use this prompt

Use this when you have a reader's question and some notes but need a clear structure before drafting.

Copyable prompt

Create an article outline for the reader described below.

1. State the reader's concrete question and give a one-sentence answer using only the supplied information.
2. Propose a working title and 4–6 sections. For each section, specify the question it answers, the key point, a concrete example, and the evidence needed.
3. Distinguish supplied facts from proposed examples. Label invented examples as hypothetical. Do not fabricate statistics, interviews, citations, or personal experience.
4. Identify missing information and unclear assumptions. Keep uncertain claims out of the proposed opening.
5. Finish with a practical action the reader can take and a short list of topics to leave out.
   Topic: [topic]
   Reader and situation: [who needs this and why]
   Source notes: [notes and verified sources]
   Desired action: [what the reader should be able to do]

Example input

This is a fictional teaching example and a sample answer written to illustrate the method, not a completed model evaluation.

Topic: How to think about the opportunity cost of a free Saturday afternoon. Reader: someone choosing between a paid shift, a course, and rest. Notes: opportunity cost concerns the best feasible alternative forgone; time, energy, and money do not always share a useful unit. Desired action: compare three real options without treating every free hour as lost wages.

Example output

Working title: "What are you giving up this Saturday? A practical opportunity-cost comparison."

Opening answer: Compare your chosen plan with the best realistic alternative you would otherwise take, using the same time period and making non-money benefits explicit.

1. Define the decision. Question: what is actually available? List the three options, the shared four-hour window, and constraints such as travel or a fixed course time. Evidence needed: the person's real schedule and available shift.

2. Compare benefits and costs. Show a hypothetical worksheet with after-expense shift income, the course's learning value, and the value of recovery. Keep learning and rest as described benefits unless the reader supplies a defensible monetary estimate.

3. Select the best alternative. Explain why the opportunity cost of rest might be the paid shift or the course, depending on that person's goals. It is not the sum of both rejected options.

4. Test assumptions. Ask whether the shift is genuinely available, whether fatigue changes the decision, and whether the course can be taken later. Do not equate an advertised hourly rate with a guaranteed alternative.

5. Make and review a decision. Choose one plan, record the main trade-off, and review afterward whether the assumptions were reasonable. A different choice next week is not proof that this week's decision was wrong.

Leave out investment-return promises, productivity guilt, and unsourced claims about how successful people spend weekends.

Human review

Verify the definition against a reliable economics source before drafting, check that all numbers are labelled hypothetical, and ensure each section answers a distinct reader question. The outline identifies evidence to collect; it does not pretend the research is already complete.

Read Opportunity Cost for the underlying concept.