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Check claims and evidence

What this lesson is about

Split an answer into claims you can check. Tell real evidence apart from wording that only sounds right.

A three-sentence reply about a pension scheme mixes a date, a number and a promise. Where do you start?

Why this matters

Exact numbers, dates and claims that are hard to undo can change decisions. That is true even when the writing sounds believable.

Split an answer into claims, and decide which one must be checked first.

Exact numbers, dates and claims that are hard to undo can change decisions. That is true even when the writing sounds believable.

Extract one checkable claim per row.
Check the precise claims that matter most, first.
Record how good the source is, and what is still unsure.

Task

A programme claims that 62% of people found work.

Weak approach Pulls the claim out as its own row, which is the first rule kept. Searches the figure and finds a news page carrying the same 62%, then marks the claim supported. The news page is repeating the programme's own press note, and nobody has read what 'found work' counts.

Stronger approach Finds the first-hand report, its date and who was counted. Reads there that 'found work' includes any paid engagement, a one-week contract included. Marks the claim supported but redefined, and says which decision that changes.

Why the stronger approach works Both reviewers checked the number and both found it. Only one went to the place that says what it counts, which is where the claim changes meaning.

Try a changed situation Now it is a school fee refund message a parent sends you on a phone. Which part do you take up?

Make something yourself Make a table of claims for a three-sentence answer. Give the claim, what it affects, the source needed, and what is unsure.

Lesson 1 of 8 on Expert, safety & agentsnextSort safety failures and send them upPart 1 ends in a work sample you can send

Read the primary or official source: Wei et al., Long-form factuality in large language models (arXiv)