stopped using claude for first drafts. started using it for last drafts. write manually. ask claude to critique. the quality improvement was immediate.

tested 2 workflows for a month:

workflow A (claude first): prompt claude → get a draft → edit the draft. this is how most people use it.

workflow B (claude last): write my own draft → ask claude "critique this. what's weak? what's missing? what contradicts itself?" → revise based on critique.

the results:

workflow A: faster production. adequate quality. the output sounds like claude edited by me.

workflow B: slower production. higher quality. the output sounds like me improved by claude.

the critique is claude's best capability. not generation. the model identifies logical gaps, unsupported claims, and structural weaknesses better than it generates original content.

for anyone producing strategy docs, proposals, or analysis: try writing first, then asking claude to critique. the critique workflow produces better output because the original thinking is yours and the refinement is the AI's. the generation workflow reverses that, and the reversal costs you the thinking.