Ask someone to review your draft without confusing them.

Say what kind of review you need

A reviewer can fix typos, question the argument, check facts or approve the draft for sending. These are different jobs. If you do not name one, you may get line edits when you needed a second opinion on the structure, or a quick “looks fine” when you needed someone to verify a figure.

Pick the one or two jobs that matter most right now and write them first. Anything outside them can be mentioned as optional.

Separate decisions from open questions

List what you have already decided and do not want reopened, such as the audience, the length or the main recommendation. Then list the questions where you want an opinion. This stops a reviewer from spending time on a choice that is already settled, and it shows where their judgment is most useful.

If you are not sure whether something is settled, put it under open questions. A decision that is wrongly marked as final is harder to correct later than a question that turns out to be unnecessary.

Give acceptance checks

An acceptance check is a statement the reviewer can answer yes or no. “Is the draft good?” is not one. “Does every number in the second section have a source link?” is. Three to five checks are usually enough.

Include the practical limits too: where the reviewer should leave comments, by when you need them and who makes the final call. Without a final decision-maker, conflicting comments can sit unresolved.

A fictional review request

Imagine a draft announcement about a change to a shared office booking process. The request might read: “Review type: accuracy and clarity, not wording. Already decided: the change starts on the first Monday of next month; the announcement stays under 300 words. Open questions: is the second paragraph clear to someone who has never used the old process? Is anything missing that a new starter would need? Checks: every date matches the calendar; each step can be followed in order; the contact name is correct. Please comment in the document by Thursday; I will make the final edits.”

The scenario is invented for illustration. The point is that the reviewer can see what is expected before opening the file, and you can tell afterwards which checks were completed.

Use the tools to keep suggestions separate

Google documents that its Suggesting mode lets someone propose changes without altering the original text, and that the owner can accept or reject each suggestion. People need permission to comment on or edit the document to use it. Giving a reviewer comment access is one way to keep the original intact while still collecting their changes. Other editors have similar features, so check the one you use.

Name the file clearly and say which version you sent, as in the shared draft naming guide. When the reviews come back, reply to each comment with what you changed or why you did not, so the reviewer can see their input was read.

Use this next

• Name shared drafts clearly
• Review AI-assisted drafts
• Check the article before publishing