Playbook 14

The issue paper, assembled

AI Tools Field Guide

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Last year’s papers, the guidance and this year’s numbers in one project. It drafts; every claim arrives with its quote.

Set it up

  • Gather the four inputs. Last year’s approved papers, the current guidance, this year’s extracts, and the format your reviewer expects.
  • Numbers come from files, not memory. Attach the extract each figure lives in, so a quote can be produced on demand.
  • Write the standing instruction once. Every claim carries a quote and a location; anything unsourced is marked, never smoothed over.
  • Keep people out of it. Billets and identifiers only; personal records do not belong in an AI tool.

Work it in four passes

  1. Pick the careful model. Pro GPT 5.6 Terra Grok Expert An argument for money is not a job for the fast tier.
  2. Draft the problem statement first. One paragraph on what breaks if nothing changes, written in the reviewer’s own language.
  3. Make the arithmetic a tool call. Ask for the code and its output, then read the table before you read the narrative.
  4. Rehearse the hard questions. Have it play the reviewer and ask the eight questions you would least like to hear.

Say it like this

Draft an issue paper from the attached files, in last year’s format. Beside every claim, put the quote and the document it came from.

Compute every figure with Python and show the code. Mark anything you cannot source as UNSUPPORTED. Do not fill a gap from general knowledge.

A reference beside every line. Open one before the paper leaves your desk.
A reference beside every line. Open one before the paper leaves your desk.

Take away

The paper is yours. Open the two quotes that carry the most money, and strike anything still marked unsourced.