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Simplify a complex taskGuide
Compare different accounts without inventing one agreed story
Compare what sources say without smoothing away their disagreements.
Illustrative resourceNot tool-testedReaders comparing complete short source accounts
What you’re working towards
A claim-by-source matrix separating agreement, contradiction, omissions and unsupported reconciliation. This is a written practice result, not a recorded AI run.
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Make a start
One step at a time.
3 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Try the complete example
Open a text AI chat you already have permission to use. Paste the whole prompt below, from TASK through END INPUT, and send it. The input is source material; do not paste the illustrative Output as an answer to imitate. Expect A claim-by-source matrix separating agreement, contradiction, omissions and unsupported reconciliation. If you receive advice instead of the result, ask for the complete requested result from the supplied input.
Your starting prompt
TASK
Compare the complete accounts claim by claim. Return a matrix with source IDs, a cautious synthesis, unsupported reconciliation warnings and focused verification questions. Preserve source disagreement and silence. Do not choose an authority or infer independence without evidence.
INPUT
Complete fictional paper-fair accounts; all refer to the same event date and local clock, but clock accuracy and source independence are unknown.
A1, account A: “The doors opened at 10:00. The demonstration began at 10:20.”
B1, account B: “The doors opened at 10:05. The demonstration began at 10:20.”
C1, account C: “The demonstration began at 10:20.”
No source is designated authoritative. No creation dates, original recordings, clock checks or copying relationships supplied. Compare claims about doors and demonstration. Distinguish agreement, contradiction and omission; provide a cautious synthesis and verification questions. Do not average incompatible times, count silence as agreement or turn three matching reports into verified independent corroboration.
END INPUT
02
Check and correct
Both matrix rows must have three source cells; C is silent only about doors, not the demonstration. Preserve 10:00 versus 10:05 as unresolved. No averaged time or invented two-stage opening appears. All three report 10:20, but independence and actual clock accuracy remain unknown. Compare with the unchanged source yourself. If anything differs, use the correction prompt, then recheck the complete replacement before saving.
Your starting prompt
Check the answer in this sample chat against the complete INPUT above. Both matrix rows must have three source cells; C is silent only about doors, not the demonstration. Preserve 10:00 versus 10:05 as unresolved. No averaged time or invented two-stage opening appears. All three report 10:20, but independence and actual clock accuracy remain unknown. Quote each mismatch and its source, then return a complete corrected replacement. If source or answer is missing, ask for it. Do not describe a suggested human trial as completed.
03
Use your own source instead
Open a new chat and copy the prompt below. Replace every bracketed field with your own permitted non-sensitive material, or write unknown. Change the source names, counts, dates and rules together wherever they occur. Expect a complete result using those new values. Compare each source link and calculation with your new input, using the review instructions in this prompt. If a fact or rule is wrong, quote the mismatch and source and ask for a complete corrected replacement; keep essential unknowns held rather than borrowing the practice values.
Your starting prompt
Compare my complete source accounts against the supplied questions or claim topics. Build a claim-by-source matrix, quoting or faithfully paraphrasing each source with its ID. Distinguish agreement, direct contradiction, omission and uncertainty; do not average incompatible values or invent events that reconcile them. Use an authority hierarchy only if MY INPUT explicitly supplies one. Return a cautious synthesis and focused questions about original evidence, timing and source independence. Review every matrix cell beside its source, count all accounts and keep silence separate from denial. Derive dates, claims and names from MY INPUT; no external corroboration is implied.
MY INPUT
Complete short authorized accounts: [replace with your source or rule]
Source IDs and dates: [replace with your source or rule]
Question being investigated: [replace with your source or rule]
Any known source dependence: [replace with your source or rule]
No authority ranking assumption: [replace with your source or rule]
Use only MY INPUT for facts, quantities, names, dates and permissions. Ask for missing essential facts or conflicting rules instead of guessing. Creative invention is allowed only where this task and my boundaries permit it. Return the actual complete requested result, a separate unknown/hold list and the source-specific review described above. Do not reuse practice-example facts. Keep this a draft; do not publish, contact people, book, buy or change another service.
Optional: improve the result
Add a dependent source
Optional, sample-only extension. Return to the practice chat, or paste this guide’s complete practice input and your checked answer into a new chat. Demonstrate why another matching account may add no independent evidence. This does not apply unchanged to your own source.
Advanced prompt
Add fictional account D: “I copied A’s times: doors 10:00, demonstration 10:20.” Rebuild the full matrix and synthesis. Mark D’s dependence on A explicitly; do not use D as a tie-breaking independent vote. If the complete sample input or answer is missing, ask me to paste it. Keep new variants separate from the original result.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
COMPLETE SYNTHETIC PRACTICE INPUT
Complete fictional paper-fair accounts; all refer to the same event date and local clock, but clock accuracy and source independence are unknown.
A1, account A: “The doors opened at 10:00. The demonstration began at 10:20.”
B1, account B: “The doors opened at 10:05. The demonstration began at 10:20.”
C1, account C: “The demonstration began at 10:20.”
No source is designated authoritative. No creation dates, original recordings, clock checks or copying relationships supplied. Compare claims about doors and demonstration. Distinguish agreement, contradiction and omission; provide a cautious synthesis and verification questions. Do not average incompatible times, count silence as agreement or turn three matching reports into verified independent corroboration.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
ILLUSTRATIVE AUTHORED OUTPUT
Written for this guide; no consumer AI execution or real-world trial is claimed.
CLAIM-BY-SOURCE MATRIX
Claim | Account A | Account B | Account C | Relationship
Doors opened | 10:00 [A1] | 10:05 [B1] | not mentioned [C1] | A/B disagree; C is silent
Demonstration began | 10:20 [A1] | 10:20 [B1] | 10:20 [C1] | reported agreement across all three
CAUTIOUS SYNTHESIS
All three supplied accounts place the demonstration at 10:20. Accounts A and B disagree about the doors: A gives 10:00 and B gives 10:05. C provides no door-opening time. The actual opening time is unresolved in this source set. Source independence and clock accuracy are unknown, so the matching demonstration reports are not established independent corroboration.
UNSUPPORTED RECONCILIATIONS TO AVOID
Do not report 10:02:30 as a compromise: neither source gives it. Do not assume A means staff access and B means public doors; that distinction is not supplied. Do not treat C’s omission as support for either time or as a contradiction. There is no majority on the door-opening claim.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
1. Do A and B refer to the same door-opening event, and what directly observed record supports each time?
2. What time source did each use, and was its clock checked?
3. Were the three accounts written independently, or did one copy another?
4. Does a permitted original event record resolve the conflict? None is supplied here.
No external source has been checked and no fictional event is asserted to have happened. This is a comparison of supplied claims, not a repaired history.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
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A few things to watch for.
A plausible story that reconciles sources can still be invented. State a possible verification question rather than quietly adding an event.
Repeated wording across sources does not prove independent observation. Keep provenance uncertainty visible.