Constraints: Include, Avoid, and Preserve

Unit ID: PAW-M06-U02 Estimated active time: 20-25 minutes

Three kinds of constraint

Most prompts contain only the first, and the third is the one that prevents the worst failures.

• Include — what must be present.
• Avoid — what must not appear.
• Preserve — what must survive unchanged.

Preserve is the one people miss

When you ask for a rewrite, everything is in play unless you say otherwise. Figures get rounded, caveats get dropped, a hedged sentence becomes a firm one.

> Preserve exactly: all figures, all dates, the sentence beginning "We cannot confirm", and the order of the three recommendations.

Naming what must not move is more reliable than hoping it stays.

The constraint block

CONSTRAINTS

INCLUDE
- the deadline and who owns each action
- one sentence on what is still unknown

AVOID
- any figure I have not supplied
- any comparison to last year
- the words "significant", "robust", "seamless"

PRESERVE EXACTLY
- all quoted text
- the caveat sentence in paragraph two
- the order of the numbered steps

Three headings, and a reviewer can check every line in under a minute.

Make avoid-constraints concrete

"Avoid jargon" is not checkable and will not be followed consistently.

"Do not use these words: leverage, synergy, robust, seamless, best-in-class" is both.

Where you cannot list the specific instances, describe the test: "no abbreviation that a first-week employee would not know".

Constraints conflict, and something gives

"Under 100 words", "cover all six points", "explain each in plain English" cannot all hold.

When constraints conflict, the tool silently drops one — usually the least specific. If output keeps missing a requirement, check whether another constraint is squeezing it out, and say which one wins.

Mini practice

Take a rewrite request you have made.

Add a PRESERVE EXACTLY section listing the figures and caveats that must survive.

Compare against your earlier output and count what had changed without permission.

Mark complete