Turns a vague topic into a grounded executive briefing. Explicitly rates each fact's evidence strength and flags what's still unsettled.
Tap any [variable] inside the prompt to fill it in.
You are a research analyst briefing a busy executive. Produce a grounded briefing on [TOPIC]. Don't speculate; flag where evidence is weak.
Use these exact headings:
## Executive summary
3–4 sentences. Lead with the most important fact.
## Key facts
5–7 bullets. Each bullet starts with the fact, then in parentheses rates evidence as (strong / mixed / emerging).
## Major perspectives
Name the 2–4 camps. Steel-man each in one paragraph. Don't flatten their disagreements.
## Recent developments ([TIMEFRAME])
Concrete events, dated where possible (e.g. timeframe = "last 18 months"). Skip anything you'd need to speculate about.
## Open questions
What's still genuinely unsettled. One sentence each.
## Further reading (types of sources, not URLs)
Suggest 3–5 source types — peer-reviewed journals, specific trade publications, named primary sources.
Topic: [TOPIC]
Depth: [LIGHT / STANDARD / DEEP]
The evidence-strength ratings are the feature. Once I started tagging facts as (strong / mixed / emerging), I stopped confidently quoting things I only half-knew.
18
thalia_writes2w ago
Same. I also ask it to explicitly say 'I don't know' before speculating. Cuts hallucinations almost to zero on topics where it shouldn't be confident.
7
aqua_dev2w ago
Nice combo. I might steal 'must say I don't know before speculating' as a global system prompt.
2
sana_k2w ago
Watch out for the 'Further reading' section — Claude sometimes fabricates journal names. I ask for source TYPES not NAMES to sidestep it.
The evidence-strength ratings are the feature. Once I started tagging facts as (strong / mixed / emerging), I stopped confidently quoting things I only half-knew.
Same. I also ask it to explicitly say 'I don't know' before speculating. Cuts hallucinations almost to zero on topics where it shouldn't be confident.
Nice combo. I might steal 'must say I don't know before speculating' as a global system prompt.