Ask better, get better

Role: You are a research assistant helping a teacher prepare a 15-minute session for [audience].
Context: I want to show how [topic] changed over [time period]. I have [type of sources].
Task: Suggest the categories I should use to sort these documents, with a one-sentence definition of each.
Format: A table: category, definition, example, how to tell it apart from the closest other category.
Limits: Use only categories I could explain to a beginner. If something doesn’t fit, say so rather than forcing it. Don’t invent examples.
Check: End with anything you’re unsure about and what I should verify myself.

I teach [audience] and want a [length] session on [topic].

Suggest 5 specific questions about this topic that can be answered from public information, would interest this audience, and could be shown in one picture. For each, tell me what data I would need and the biggest way it could mislead people. Then recommend one and say why.

Here is my question: [question].

Act as a skeptical colleague. List the three strongest objections to how I’m framing it, what I might be assuming without noticing, and what a more careful version of the question would be. Do not just agree with me.

I need to collect [type of documents] from [time period] about [topic].

Propose a search plan I can run one chunk at a time (for example, month by month). For each chunk, tell me what to search for, how to recognize a relevant result, and how we will know we didn’t miss any. Ask me about anything unclear before starting.

Before you analyze anything, list every item you found. Then, after analyzing, report “analyzed X of Y found” and name any items you skipped or couldn’t read, and why. Never present a partial pass as complete.

I have [kind of documents] and want to sort them to answer: [question].

Propose a small set of categories (no more than [number]) with a one-sentence definition and an example of each. Point out where two categories could be confused and how to tell them apart. Include an “unclear” option so you aren’t forced to guess.

Using only the approved categories below, sort each document. For every one, give: the category, a short quote or passage that supports it, and your confidence (high, medium, low). If it doesn’t fit, say “unclear” rather than forcing it.

Categories:
[paste approved categories]

Sort these documents again from scratch using these categories. Do not look at any earlier labels. Then I will compare your two passes.

Act as a skeptical auditor. I’m attaching my data table and the summary I plan to present. Do the following:
1. Recompute every number in the summary from the table and flag any mismatch.
2. List every claim that is stronger than the data supports.
3. List what the data cannot tell us.
4. Suggest the exact wording that would be accurate.

Be specific and cite rows. Do not reassure me.

Read the text below. Underline each statement that uses words like “all,” “never,” “always,” “independent,” or “proves.” For each, say what evidence would be needed to justify it, and rewrite it more accurately.

[paste text]

What is the weakest part of the conclusion you just gave me? What single piece of additional evidence would change it? What should a person check by hand first?

Here is my table: [describe columns]. My audience is [audience] and the one thing I want them to take away is [takeaway].

Recommend the clearest way to show it and why, plus one alternative. Say what each choice would hide, and whether it works for someone who can’t distinguish colors.

Build a single self-contained HTML page from the attached table. Each row should be one mark. Show a short preview on hover and a detail panel on click, with links to the source document. Make it work with a keyboard, add a plain table alternative, and don’t use any outside services or trackers.

Write (a) alt text of two sentences for someone who can’t see this image, and (b) a plain-language caption for a general audience. Mention the main pattern and one caveat.

Turn the table and notes below, which I have checked, into a one-page handout for [audience]. Use plain language at about an 8th-grade reading level, a clear heading, three key takeaways, and a short “how we know” note with limits. Do not add any facts that aren’t in the material.

[paste material]

Create a [5 / 10 / 15]-minute talk from the material below. Give me slide titles, the one idea per slide, speaker notes, and a note on where to pause for questions. Put the caveats on their own slide.

[paste material]

Produce a print-ready PDF for US Letter. Use readable type (nothing under 8 points), real headings, good margins, and a footer with the date and a one-line caveat. After you build it, look at every page and tell me about any text that is cut off, overlapping or too small, then fix it.

Write 6 discussion questions about the material below, from easy to hard. For each, add what a strong answer would include. Include two that ask people to question the data itself.

Play a skeptical attendee at my session on [topic]. Ask me five tough but fair questions one at a time, wait for my answer, and then tell me where my answer was weak.