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Turn search results into a reading list table

  • For College students
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

For your Sociology 310 paper on remote work and loneliness, your professor wants peer-reviewed sources only, and you can only read things that are free or in your library. Make a table with columns Title, Year, Peer-reviewed and Access (Free, Library or Paywall), one row per result, no bullets. After the table, write one line starting Start with: naming the one result that is peer-reviewed, from 2023 or later, and not Paywall. Under 170 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Asking for a summary. The AI summarizes each study instead of telling you which ones you can actually use. Try: Say: "Table with columns Title, Year, Peer-reviewed, Access."
  • Not defining Access. The AI marks the coworking report as a free source without noting it's a company survey, and lumps library and paywall together. Try: Add: "Access is Free, Library or Paywall."
  • No starting point. You get a table but still have to decide where to begin. Try: Add: "Start with: the one peer-reviewed, 2023+, non-paywall source."
  • Long or formatted output. AI adds a heading, bold text and research tips. Try: Add: "No heading, no bold, nothing after the Start with line."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Asks for a table with columns
  • Defines Access
  • Asks for peer review status
  • Asks where to start
  • Asks for plain text

Practice this now ↑

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