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Brief a research assistant to shortlist sources you can trust

  • For College students
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You're writing a paper on urban heat islands and want an AI research assistant to shortlist sources from a search it already ran. Write its brief: save only peer-reviewed sources from 2015 or later, flag the blog post to you with ASK_HUMAN because it cites a retracted study, and never draft any part of the paper (you write it yourself). Output a plain-text numbered action log of at most 6 lines, ending with a DONE line listing the saved source IDs.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
  • Not defining a good source. The AI keeps anything on topic, including Wikipedia, news and a 2012 study. Try: Add: "Save only peer-reviewed sources from 2015 or later."
  • Not asking for red flags. The AI treats a popular blog as fine without checking what it cites. Try: Add: "If a source relies on a retracted study, ASK_HUMAN, don't save it."
  • Letting it write for you. Research agents often offer to draft sections, which isn't your work. Try: Add: "Never use draft_paper. End with DONE and the saved IDs."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Defines a good source
  • Flags the retraction
  • Keeps the writing yours
  • Makes it ask before anything risky
  • Shows the action-log format

Practice this now ↑

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