Overview
Long-context models make it possible to research and write in the same session without losing citations. This workflow uses Claude's 200k context to hold source material, extract claims, and produce a first draft that references the sources by number.
How it works
- Stage 1: paste 5–15 source articles into a single message with numbered delimiters.
- Stage 2: ask Claude to output a claims table (claim, source #, confidence).
- Stage 3: ask Claude to write an 800-word brief that only uses claims marked high-confidence and cites source numbers inline.
Benefits
- Cuts research-to-first-draft from a full afternoon to under an hour.
- Every claim in the draft is traceable to a source you provided.
- Reusable across topics by changing only the sources.
Use cases
- Analysts writing weekly market notes.
- Content teams producing pillar articles from vetted sources.
- Consultants preparing briefing docs for client meetings.
Step-by-step guide
Step 1: Collect and label sources
Save each source as plain text or clean markdown. Number them S1..Sn. Strip navigation and ads.
Step 2: Paste with the framing prompt
Use the provided system prompt that instructs Claude to only cite sources present in the message and to refuse otherwise.
Step 3: Request the claims table
Ask for a markdown table with claim, supporting source(s), and confidence. Reject any row without a source.
Step 4: Generate the draft
In a follow-up turn, ask for the 800-word brief. Insist on inline [S3] style citations.
Step 5: Human edit pass
Read every citation. Anything not directly supported gets cut, not softened.