{"id":"study-search-ranking-votes-analogy","audience":"college","category":"explaining","technique":"audience","track":"study","title":"Explain how search engines rank pages, no code","free":false,"task":"Your Information Science course for non-majors asks you to explain how a search engine decides which pages rank first. Get exactly 3 numbered sentences using only the professor's 'links are votes' analogy (what a link counts as, why some votes count more, why spam links don't help), under 70 words, plain text. No code, no formulas and no word 'algorithm' or 'PageRank'.","materialLabel":"Your lecture notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"INFO 1200 - How the Web Works (non-majors) - Lecture 8: Search (Prof. Mwangi)\n\nHow a search engine ranks pages (simplified for this course):\n1. It finds pages that match your words.\n2. It ranks them, partly by how many OTHER pages link to them.\n\nPROF'S ANALOGY: \"Links are votes.\"\n- When page A links to page B, that's like A voting for B.\n- Not all votes are equal: a vote from a well-known, trusted page counts more than a vote from a brand-new or unknown page. (Like a recommendation from a famous chef vs. a stranger.)\n- Spam: someone creates 1,000 fake pages that all link to their site. Prof: \"Votes from pages nobody trusts barely count, so it doesn't work well.\"\n\nExam question: \"In plain language, how does a search engine decide which pages to show first?\"\nProf. Mwangi: \"No math. If you just write 'PageRank algorithm,' you get no credit.\"\n\nAlso covered: ads at the top are paid, not ranked (separate topic, not on this question).\n\nFinal: Dec 15.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":3},{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking about Google","why":"The AI explains the real company's methods with technical terms, not your lecture's analogy.","fix":"Say: \"Use only the 'links are votes' analogy from my notes.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Not saying how many sentences","why":"The AI picks its own number, and it usually picks more sentences than you need.","fix":"Be exact: \"Exactly 3 numbered sentences.\"","checks":["numberedItems"]},{"title":"Not banning jargon","why":"AI reaches for 'PageRank algorithm', which your professor gives no credit for.","fix":"Add: \"No code, formulas, algorithm or PageRank.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Drifting off topic","why":"The AI may add paid ads or other ranking factors.","fix":"Add: \"Only how links affect ranking.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"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 sentence: \"each under 20 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 on the exam.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold, no headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the analogy","patterns":["votes?","links are votes"]},{"label":"Says how many sentences","patterns":["\\b(3|three)\\b.{0,25}sentence"]},{"label":"Bans jargon","patterns":["pagerank","algorithm","no (code|math|formula)"]},{"label":"Says who it's for","patterns":["non.?major","plain (language|words)","beginner"]},{"label":"Sets a length limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)","under \\d+"]}],"hint":"Tell the AI the analogy to use, the three ideas to cover, and the jargon to avoid, so the answer reads like your exam needs.","rubricLabels":["Uses only the 'links are votes' analogy: a link counts as a vote, votes from trusted or well-known pages count more, and fake or spam links barely count","Contains no code, no formulas and none of the words algorithm or PageRank","Stays on ranking, with nothing about paid ads or other topics, and no intro or closing line"]}