The rewritten instruction is shorter and easier to read. But does it still tell the reader when an action is allowed? A smooth sentence is not enough if “only after” has quietly disappeared.
Plain language can make conditions easier to follow without removing them. Digital.gov’s writing guidance illustrates how a conditional relationship can survive across separate sentences. The practical check below applies that idea to an AI-assisted edit; it is not a guarantee that a model will preserve meaning.
Mark the conditions before requesting a rewrite
Use this invented editing instruction: “Export a copy only after the review is complete. If comments remain unresolved, return to editing.” Before simplifying it, mark the action, the prerequisite and the exception.
A possible rewrite is: “Finish the review before you export a copy. If any comments are still unresolved, go back to editing.” A version that merely says “Review the document and export a copy” has lost the unresolved-comments rule.
Ask the tool to keep every condition, exception, number and responsible person, and to flag unclear wording instead of guessing. Provide only the passage needed for the task. Keep the original beside the draft so the comparison does not depend on memory.
Try the instruction in two situations
In the example, what should someone do when the review is complete and no comments remain? What if a comment is still unresolved? Both versions should lead to the same decision in each situation.
Read the conditions yourself rather than treating the tool’s explanation as proof. If the original is ambiguous, ask its author to clarify it. Resolve that ambiguity before sharing the simpler version; easier reading should not create a new rule.