{"id":"study-history-evidence-specific-vague","audience":"high-school","category":"writing-feedback","technique":"examples","track":"study","title":"Check whether your essay evidence is specific enough","free":false,"task":"Your history teacher keeps writing 'be specific!' on your essays. Get exactly 4 numbered lines, one per piece of evidence in your body paragraph, each labeled exactly Specific or Vague using Ms. Ortiz's guide, with a reason under 10 words, plain text. Don't rewrite any of your evidence or suggest replacements.","materialLabel":"Your paragraph and the teacher's guide (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"US HISTORY - Ms. Ortiz - Essay: Causes of the Great Depression\nBody paragraph 2 (my draft) - evidence marked [E1]-[E4]:\n\nTopic sentence: The stock market crash showed how risky the economy had become.\nE1: Many people lost a lot of money when the market crashed.\nE2: On October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, investors traded over 16 million shares as prices collapsed.\nE3: Banks had problems back then.\nE4: By 1933, about 9,000 banks had failed, wiping out the savings of millions of depositors.\n\nMS. ORTIZ'S EVIDENCE GUIDE:\n- Specific: names a date, number, person, place or named event that a reader could check.\n- Vague: general statement with no checkable detail (\"many people,\" \"problems,\" \"a lot\").\n\nHer comment last time: \"Two of your four pieces of evidence could be about ANY era. Fix that.\"\n\nFinal draft due Monday. I'll find better evidence myself.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":4},{"type":"maxWords","max":65},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking if it's good","why":"The AI rewrites the paragraph and adds facts, which isn't your research.","fix":"Say: \"Don't rewrite or suggest evidence. Just label each one.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Not giving exact labels","why":"Without fixed labels, the AI says 'could be stronger' about everything.","fix":"Say: \"Label each exactly Specific or Vague.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Not naming the standard","why":"The AI may accept 'many people lost money' as fine.","fix":"Add: \"Use Ms. Ortiz's guide.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Not saying how many lines","why":"The AI picks its own number, and it usually picks more lines than you need.","fix":"Be exact: \"Exactly 4 numbered lines.\"","checks":["numberedItems"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over.","fix":"Cap each reason: \"under 8 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Forgetting where it will be read","why":"AI formats for a screen, with bold and headings that show up as stray symbols in your notes.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold, no headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Gives exact labels","patterns":["specific.{0,15}vague","label"]},{"label":"Uses the guide","patterns":["guide","ortiz","teacher"]},{"label":"Says not to rewrite it","patterns":["(don't|do not|no|never|not).{0,20}(rewrite|rewritten|replacement|re-?write|write it for)","keep.{0,20}(my|own) words"]},{"label":"Says how many lines","patterns":["\\b(4|four)\\b.{0,25}line"]},{"label":"Sets a length limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)","under \\d+"]}],"hint":"Labels from your teacher's guide show exactly which evidence needs work. Give the AI the two labels, the guide, and tell it not to supply new evidence.","rubricLabels":["Each line uses exactly one label, Specific or Vague, for E1 to E4 in order","The labels match the guide: E1 Vague, E2 Specific, E3 Vague, E4 Specific","Gives no rewritten evidence, replacement facts or suggested sentences"]}