Summarize public comments on a proposed rule, plan, or project
Groups public comments into themes, counts them honestly, and drafts responses for the record without dropping minority viewpoints.
The prompt
Help me analyze and summarize public comments we received.
What was out for comment: [proposed rule, plan, permit, project, policy]
Comment period and channels: [DATES; email, portal, hearing testimony, letters]
Comments: [PASTE comments, each with an ID number]
Required output: [e.g. "response-to-comments document for the record", "summary for decision-makers", "both"]
Steps:
1. Tag each comment by ID to one or more themes. Separate substantive comments (new facts, legal arguments, specific requested changes) from statements of support or opposition.
2. Identify form letters or campaign comments, count them once as a group, and note how many copies.
3. For each theme, give: the number of comments, a neutral one-paragraph summary, representative short quotes with comment IDs, and specific changes commenters requested.
4. Flag comments that raise issues outside the scope of this action, and those that may need a legal or technical response.
5. Draft a response for each substantive theme, using placeholders: [AGENCY RESPONSE: change made / no change because ...].
Output:
- A summary table: Theme | # comments | Support / oppose / mixed | Key requested changes | Comment IDs.
- The theme-by-theme narrative and draft responses.
- A short list of minority or unusual points that decision-makers should not miss.
Rules: count honestly and do not treat comment volume as a vote; summarize every viewpoint fairly, including ones that disagree with the agency; never invent comments or quotes; keep commenters' personal details out of the summary.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Research & Summaries prompts
What to fill in
- proposed rule, plan, permit, project, policy
- DATES; email, portal, hearing testimony, letters
- PASTE comments, each with an ID number
- AGENCY RESPONSE: change made / no change because ...
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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