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Lesson 2 of 7 · 6 min read

Script from sources

Write a short ad script on a fixed spine: a sourced hook, one human beat shown rather than promised, lines written for the mouth, and a claim ledger.

A moment at work · fictional example

Jo could ask an assistant for a lively 55-second ad script and have one in seconds. It would likely contain numbers nobody checked. Fernway needs a script where every claim has a source Jo has read.

You will make: Write and lock the script for your ad. Follow the fictional example first, then try it with material you are permitted to use.

Write on a spine

Emeri’s own ads follow one spine of nine beats, in this order. A hook with a sourced fact. A tension line. One human beat about why people do the thing at all. The turn, where the product helps. A bridge, such as “try this one with me”.

Then one product question, with a pause for the viewer to answer. The reveal. A short offer. One call to action.

Each beat gets one or two spoken sentences. The script runs about 50 to 60 seconds with its pauses. If a line serves no beat, cut it.

Hook with a fact you checked

The hook is the first line, and it carries a number. Take the number from a primary source, such as a government agency, not from an article that quotes one. Read the source page in the same week you post.

Copy the source’s exact wording into your notes. Then write the spoken line so it says no more than the source. If the source says “estimated at between 30 and 40 percent”, the line says “between 30 and 40 percent”, not “almost half”.

Put the source on screen beside the number, with the year of the data. A viewer can then check the claim.

Show the human beat, do not promise it

The human beat names the reason people do the task at all, in one line. People who plan meals want a calm evening or money for something they care about. The b-roll shows that reason as a picture of a life.

Show it. Do not promise it as an outcome. “Sunday night is calm” over a shot of a quiet kitchen shows a reason. “You’ll save $60 a month” promises a result you would need evidence for.

The FTC’s advertising guide for small businesses says advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims. It says the proof must exist before the ad runs. An outcome promise is a claim.

Write for the mouth

The creator says the script aloud, so write it the way a person talks. Use contractions. Keep each sentence short enough to say in one breath. Write numbers the way people say them, such as “30 to 40 percent”.

Read the draft aloud at the creator’s pace, with a timer running. The timer gives the length. Your own mouth finds the lines that trip.

Mark the key words for the screen as you go. Lesson 6 turns them into highlighted captions.

Keep a claim ledger

A claim ledger is a table with one row for every factual statement in the script. Each row holds the line as spoken, the source, the source’s exact wording, the date you read it, and what appears on screen.

Product facts count too. “Free” and “about two minutes” are claims about your own product. Their source is the product itself, checked by someone who can see it.

If a line has no source, cut it or rewrite it so it needs none. Lesson 7 checks the ledger again before you post.

Worked example · Fernway

Jo writes Maya’s script

Jo has the honesty line from Lesson 1 and three inputs. The first is the USDA food waste FAQ page. The second is Fernway’s product notes for the pantry check. The third is the nine-beat spine. Jo asks an assistant for a first draft from those inputs only.

  1. Jo reads the USDA page first. It says food waste in the United States is estimated at between 30 and 40 percent of the food supply. The estimate rests on 2010 data. Jo copies the wording into the claim ledger.
  2. The first draft opens with “Forty percent of the food you buy ends up in the trash.”
    What would you do next?What is wrong with that hook?Think it through, then show the answer

    It says more than the source. USDA estimates 30 to 40 percent of the food supply, not 40 percent of what one shopper buys. Jo rewrites it: “Between 30 and 40 percent of America’s food supply goes to waste.”

  3. Jo puts the source on screen beside the number: “USDA estimate, 2010 data”. It stays up for as long as the number does.That answers the question you guessed at: Guess: in a 55-second ad, where should the source for a statistic appear?
  4. The draft’s turn reads, “This app saved me $60 a month.”
    What would you do next?Can that line stay?Think it through, then show the answer

    No. Maya does not exist, so the line is a testimonial from nobody, which Section 465.2 forbids. The $60 has no source either. Jo cuts it, and Maya demonstrates the pantry check instead.

  5. Jo writes the human beat: “Nobody plans meals because they love lists. You do it so Sunday night is calm, and the money goes to the trip, not the bin.” The b-roll will show a quiet kitchen and a packed bag by the door. Nothing in the line promises a saving.
  6. Jo reads the draft aloud with a timer. The speech runs 58 seconds. Jo cuts a second tension line and changes “approximately” to “about”. The speech now runs 47 seconds, which leaves room for the answer pause, the reveal and the end card.
  7. Jo finishes the claim ledger with four rows: the USDA figure, “free”, “about two minutes”, and the “Demo result” label on the quiz screen. Fernway’s product lead confirms the two product facts in the app.

The locked script has nine beats. The USDA hook. A line about the bag of spinach at the back of the fridge. The human beat. The turn to the pantry check. “Try this one with me.” One quiz question with a pause. The waste-score reveal. “It’s free, and it takes about two minutes.” “Take the free pantry check. Link’s right here.” Every factual line has a row in the ledger. Lesson 3 casts Maya and records the voice.

Go deeper: the research and edge cases

Optional. The exercise needs only what is above.

When the data is old

The USDA figure in the worked example rests on a USDA Economic Research Service estimate for 2010. The USDA page still gives it as the estimate today. Jo shows the data year on screen, so nobody reads it as a new measurement.

The same page says the United States has no single baseline for food loss and waste. It describes two different measures, one from EPA and one from USDA. Pick one measure and name it. Do not mix numbers from both in one line.

What the assistant is for

An assistant drafts fast, and it fills gaps with plausible numbers. Give it the source text and the product notes, and tell it to mark a gap instead of filling one. Then check every number in the draft against the ledger, not against your memory of the source.

Starter prompts

  • Draft a script on the spine

    Write a script for a [length]-second vertical creator-style video ad for [product]. The free action viewers should take is: [action]. The speaker is [an AI-generated creator who presents and demonstrates but never claims to have used the product / a real customer speaking about their own use]. Use only these sources: [paste the source text and your product notes]. Follow these nine beats in order, one or two spoken sentences each: a hook with a sourced fact; tension; one human beat about why people do this at all; the turn to the product; a bridge such as "try this one with me"; one product question with a pause for the viewer; the reveal; a short offer; one call to action. Write for the mouth: contractions, short sentences, numbers as people say them. Mark on-screen key words in [brackets]. Do not invent any number, result or customer experience. If a beat needs a fact the sources lack, write "GAP:" and what is missing.

  • Build the claim ledger

    Here is an ad script: [paste the script]. Here are my sources, with their URLs: [paste the source text]. Make a table with one row per factual statement, including facts about my own product such as price or time. Columns: line as spoken; source URL; the source’s exact wording; date I read it (leave blank for me); on-screen source label. Flag any line whose wording says more than its source. Flag any line with no source. Flag any line where the speaker claims personal use or a result. Do not rewrite the script.

  • Check it for the mouth

    Here is a script a creator will speak to camera: [paste the script]. List every sentence too long to say in one breath, every number written differently from how people say it, and every word a text-to-speech voice could say wrong. Estimate the spoken length at a relaxed pace, and remind me to confirm it by reading aloud with a timer. Do not rewrite the script.

When not to use AI

  • Finding the statistic. An assistant can suggest where to look, but you read the primary source and copy its wording yourself.
  • Confirming product facts. Someone who can see the product checks each one.
  • A claim that needs proof you do not have, such as money saved or a health result. Cut it.
Recall from memoryWhere does a statistic’s source go in the finished ad, and where does it go in your notes?Answer it without looking back, then show the answer

In the ad, it goes on screen beside the number, with the data year, for as long as the number is up. In your notes, it goes in the claim ledger with the source’s exact wording and the date you read it.

Exercise · your project

Write and lock the script for your ad.

  1. Find one fact for your hook on a primary source, and copy its exact wording.
  2. Draft the script on the nine-beat spine with the first prompt.
  3. Read it aloud with a timer, and cut until the speech leaves room for the pauses and the end card.
  4. Build the claim ledger, and cut any line without a source.
  5. Add the locked script and the ledger to your ad plan.

Your project workspace

Leave with work you can use.

Write here or use an approved tool. Use fictional or permitted information. Your work stays in this open page and disappears on reload. Nothing is submitted to Emeri or an AI service.

This is self-review. Completion is saved on this device and does not award certification.

Sources