Build the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal report shell and tidy its standard sections from your own text, leaving every judgement section blank

A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) follows much the same section order from job to job, and one ecologist’s job profile says she spends much of the winter writing reports. The fixed parts (contents, document control, abbreviations, appendix list, table layouts and your own standard methods and limitations paragraphs) take time but need no ecological judgement. AI can build that shell and tidy your own wording. The habitat descriptions, protected-species assessment, impacts and recommendations stay blank for you or your named ecologist to write, and no species records or locations go into the AI tool.

An AI chat tool, then your own word processor (no client, site or species-location data goes into the AI tool; paste headings and your own standard text only)

Steps

1. Open a previous appraisal you are happy with and save a copy. Delete the client, landowner, site address, grid references, maps, species records and every site-specific sentence. What is left is your headings plus any standard wording you reuse.
2. List the headings in the prompt and mark each one: AI MAY TIDY (contents page, document control table, abbreviations, appendix list, figure and table captions, your own standard methods and limitations paragraphs) or ECOLOGIST ONLY (habitat descriptions, protected-species assessment, impacts, constraints, recommendations, further surveys, mitigation).
3. Run the prompt. The AI returns the shell with the tidy sections reworded for clarity only and each ecologist-only section left as a heading with [ECOLOGIST TO WRITE] under it, plus table layouts with column headings and empty rows.
4. Fill the shell outside the AI tool from your own field notes and records. If you want help tidying a judgement section afterwards, paste only text with no locations or species detail, and never ask the AI to add content.
5. Before issue, run the report through your quality check (job 10): self check, factual check by someone competent, then approval. Update the standard sections for this job: survey date, weather, access limits and anything the shell cannot know.

The exact prompt

I work for a small ecological consultancy in the UK. I need a report shell for a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA). Below are my own headings, each marked AI MAY TIDY or ECOLOGIST ONLY, and my own standard paragraphs for the tidy sections.

Task: (1) return the full shell in heading order; (2) for every AI MAY TIDY heading, return my text lightly reworded for clarity only, with the same meaning, and do not add any fact, method, standard, species, law or guidance that I have not written; (3) for every ECOLOGIST ONLY heading, return the heading followed by [ECOLOGIST TO WRITE] and nothing else; (4) add table layouts for a document control table, a survey details table (date, surveyor, weather, access limits as empty columns) and an appendix list, with empty rows; (5) mark any place where my standard text mentions a date, version or rule that may need updating with [CHECK THIS IS CURRENT].

RULES FOR THIS CHAT: I will give you only my own text, headings, dates and figures that I have typed in. I have not included, and will not include, any client or landowner name, address, email or phone number, any site address, grid reference or map, any species location (the position of a roost, sett, nest, pond, record or survey point), or any other confidential detail about a site, client or landowner. Use the blanks [CLIENT], [LANDOWNER], [SITE] and [SPECIES LOCATION]. Do not ask for them and do not invent any. You must not give or suggest any ecological judgement: no view on whether a species or habitat is present, its value or condition, any impact or mitigation, whether a survey or licence is needed or adequate, whether survey data is in date, whether a site is exempt from biodiversity net gain, or whether anything is compliant, lawful or ready to sign off. Do not do arithmetic, count dates or work out areas: copy every figure and date exactly as I typed it. Where a judgement is needed, write [FOR THE ECOLOGIST TO DECIDE]. Everything you write is a draft that a named ecologist will check.

MY HEADINGS AND MARKS: [PASTE]
MY STANDARD PARAGRAPHS FOR THE TIDY SECTIONS: [PASTE]