Check Before You Trust

Relax. We'll talk through this in plain words — no textbook voice.

What you'll walk away with

Understand Check Before You Trust without it feeling intimidating
Get hands-on practice using it yourself
Learn to spot and sidestep invented facts and secret-sharing, with a smile

Take a breath — this chapter is written to be read like a conversation, not a textbook, so it's easy to follow.

Let's Think About It for a Second

The RAG course said "trust it once you see it on the page." Same rule here. An answer can be polished, can flow, can even sound charming. But names get swapped, dates get wrong, examples get invented. You're the editor. The model is the one writing the first draft. Don't publish the first draft. Your eyes, your notes, and a follow-up question are your quality-checking tools.

Connect It to Everyday Life

Ask of any answer you get: where did this come from? Is this example even plausible? Does it match my notes? If unsure, ask it back: "flag anything you're not certain about." Bad — asking "are you sure?" and believing "yes, I'm sure." That's like asking your yes-man friend. He'll say yes.

Treat it as a first draft
Ask about every fact
Don't take "I'm sure" as proof

Let's Try It Together

text

After the answer, ask:
1. Which lines are you unsure about?
2. What did you invent?
3. What should I check in my notes?

You should see

You can ask 3 questions to check an answer before trusting it.

Try It in 5 Minutes

Write a fake AI answer. Put in 2 correct facts and 1 wrong one. Write how you'd catch it.

A Quick Heads-Up

A confident tone is a trap. The flatter it sounds, the more you should check.

Easy traps

Taking a well-written sentence as true
Saving it without checking it against your own notes

Try It Yourself Now

Write a fake AI answer. Put in 2 correct facts and 1 wrong one. Write how you'd catch it.

You'll know it worked when: You can ask 3 questions to check an answer before trusting it.