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The playbook Moonrank's Writer Agent uses to turn a target query into a production-ready brief — angle, outline, proof, and a definition of done.
Download the methodology, see how the agent sets the angle, or run it live inside the Writer Agent.
--- name: article-brief description: Turn a target query into a production-ready brief a writer or agent can draft from without asking follow-up questions. owner: Moonrank Writer Agent --- # Article Brief A brief is a decision document, not a wish list. If the writer has to guess the angle, the audience, or what "done" looks like, the brief failed. ## When to use - Drafts keep coming back off-angle and need heavy rewriting. - You're briefing freelancers, or an AI agent, at volume. - Two writers given the same keyword produce two unrelated articles. ## Inputs - **Required:** the target query and the audience it's written for. - **Optional:** the product angle, internal link targets, and any claims that must appear. ## Method 1. **Read the SERP:** what format ranks — guide, listicle, comparison, tool? Match it or beat it deliberately. 2. **Name the searcher:** who types this, at what stage, and what they do next. 3. **Set the angle:** the one argument this piece makes that the ranking pages don't. 4. **Outline:** H2s in the order a reader needs them, each with the question it answers. 5. **Specify proof:** the stats, examples, screenshots, or quotes required — with sources. 6. **Define done:** word count range, internal links, the direct-answer paragraph, and the CTA. ## Output format A brief containing: - **Target query** and secondary queries - **Audience** and funnel stage - **Angle**: one sentence - **Outline**: H2/H3 with the question each answers - **Proof required**: specific stats, examples, sources - **Internal links**: exact URLs and anchors - **Done means**: length, direct answer, CTA ## Prioritization rules - One brief, one query cluster. Two targets means two articles. - Lead the piece with the answer; every section after it earns its place or is cut. - Never brief a word count without an angle — length is not a quality signal. - If you can't state the angle in one sentence, you don't have one yet.
The Article Brief skill is how Moonrank's Writer Agent decides what an article should argue before a word is written: reading the SERP, naming the searcher, fixing the angle, and specifying exactly what proof the piece needs.
It's written as a SKILL.md, a plain-language instruction format that people and AI agents can both follow. Read it to brief your own writers, standardize what your freelancers receive, or let the Writer Agent generate briefs and draft from them.
Downloading the playbook is free with a Moonrank account. Generating briefs from your live query data and drafting against them daily is what the Writer Agent does.
“Every draft comes back generic. The writers aren't bad — the briefs must be.”
Your briefs specify a keyword and a word count, and nothing else. That's a prompt for a summary of page one. The fix is three fields: who's searching and what they do next, the one argument this piece makes that the ranking pages don't, and the specific proof required. Same writers, same budget, different output.
The query the piece should win, and the audience it's written for.
The Writer Agent identifies the format that ranks and decides whether to match it or beat it.
One sentence of argument, then H2s in the order a reader actually needs them.
Proof required, internal links with exact anchors, the direct-answer paragraph, and the CTA.
Guide, listicle, comparison, or tool — matched deliberately, not by default.
Who types this, at what funnel stage, and what they do next.
The argument this piece makes that the pages already ranking don't.
Every H2 paired with the question it answers, in reading order.
The specific stats, examples, and sources the draft must contain.
Length range, internal links, direct-answer paragraph, and CTA — no ambiguity.