The method
- Choose a narrow question and copy only statements answering it directly. Number claims about identity, dates, quantities, rules or causal relationships. Distinguish drafting suggestions from assertions about the world; they require different kinds of checking.
- Find a document establishing each precise point, rather than stopping at an organization’s name. Open the relevant passage and record what it actually supports. A source discussing the topic does not establish every sentence in the answer.
- Mark rows as supported, contradicted, unestablished or outside scope. Rewrite your synthesis using the table and retain visible uncertainty. Do not upload a confidential personal file to the service merely to ask it to validate its own response.
Your recording grid
Use these columns to keep information about your own project. The sheet is blank; you can print it and fill it in.
Fictional worked example
A fictional assistant supplies three dates and an explanation. Your documents establish one date, contradict another and say nothing about the third. The table preserves these separate states; the explanation remains open until relevant material is found. Finding one source does not validate the answer as a whole.
The record to keep
Keep the question, initial answer, documentary passages and row-by-row conclusion. This record lets you repeat the checks when the text or sources change.
What this method can establish
The grid records checks rather than guaranteeing truth. An unavailable reference remains unestablished. Medical, legal or financial decisions require suitable context and an appropriate professional.
Supporting documentation
Documentation consulted on
An editorial method, a fictional example and references for further reading.