Directed Edit Log — Template

Module 3 capstone artifact · produces /capstone/directed-edit-log-v1.md · concept

What this is. The Module 3 capstone artifact. By the end of Lesson 3.5, your copy of this log will have three entries plus a zone map, and will be frozen as /capstone/directed-edit-log-v1.md. This template is the fill-in-the-blanks version.

Keep a draft copy (directed-edit-log-draft.md) that you add to through later modules. The v1 freeze captures the Module 3 state and does not change.

Header — copy verbatim

Copy these four lines exactly

Directed edit log — v1.

Student: ______________

Frozen on: 2026-[MM-DD].

Module 3 capstone artifact. Future edits go into -v2.md, not here.

Safety norms — copy verbatim

RULE 1. You do not merge what you have not read. Every diff, every time.

RULE 2. Never let an agent run a destructive command on your behalf without confirming the command first.

These two rules appear at the top of every directed-edit log in this course.

Zone map

Three short paragraphs. From Lesson 3.4’s project checkpoint.

Strong zones I expect to use most:
Tripwires I am most at risk of:
Reframe habit I commit to practicing:

Entry 1 — first directed edit (Lesson 3.2, Cowork)

Entry 01 First directed edit — Cowork
Date
Tool
Repo / file(s)
Goal in one sentence
Prompt I sent
Agent’s output summary — what did locate / plan / write / verify look like?

Locate:

Plan:

Write (diff scope):

Verify:

My review notes using the checklist

Right place?   Pushed back (explain): _______________________________

Right scope?   Asked for minimal diff (explain): ______________________

Legitimate deletion?   N/A   Asked for justification (explain): _____

Any surprise? No   Yes (explain): _____________________________

Verify step ran and I saw it?   No

Final diff merged (commit message)
One-sentence reflection — what surprised me

Entry 2 — deliberately harder review (Lesson 3.3)

Entry 02 Deliberately harder review
Date

Tool   Cowork   Claude Code

Repo / file(s)
Deliberately loose prompt I sent

The point of this entry is to produce a diff that exercises your review, not a clean edit.

What the diff contained — in rough summary
Which of the four questions caught the most issues?

Right place   Right scope   Legitimate deletion   Surprise

Specific issues I flagged

My decision   Merge   Revise   Reject

If revise or reject, the revision prompt I sent
What I would ask for differently next time

Entry 3 — feature-sized (Lesson 3.5)

Entry 03 Feature-sized work — scoped and sliced
Date
Feature
Tool and why
Link to scoping doc
Slices executed
Per-slice review notes — one or two sentences each. Did you catch any tripwire cues?

Slice 1:

Slice 2:

Slice 3:

Slice 4 (if any):

Slice 5 (if any):

Mid-flight scoping changes — did the plan need to be updated? Why?
End-to-end verify — what I ran, what I saw
One-sentence reflection — what was different about directing feature-sized work vs. bug-sized work

Closeout

After the three entries are complete:

  1. All three entries include the prompt, the tool, the review notes, and the one-sentence surprise / reflection.
  2. The zone map at the top is filled in and grounded in actual Module 3 experience, not generic aspirations.
  3. The two safety norms are visible at the top.
  4. Copy this file to /capstone/directed-edit-log-v1.md with the freeze header.
  5. Keep -draft.md as a working copy; you will continue adding directed-edit entries through later modules.

A note on honesty

Do not polish this log. The reflections are most valuable when they include the moments you caught yourself skimming, approved a plan too fast, or missed a tripwire cue.

A perfect-looking log is either a student who didn’t push themselves or a student who cleaned it up afterward. Both fail the same way: they make the capstone artifact worth less as a record of what the student actually learned.