Module 03 · 16 minutes
Critique and Revision
Break down complex work, ask the model to critique its output, use sources, and add tools where they help.
Written and edited by Cahyanto Arie Wibowo. Last reviewed · version 1.2.
How does the idea of “Critique and Revision” change the decision we make?
In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review. Ask two questions about Critique and Revision. What is it, and which decision becomes clearer once you understand it? Afterward, it should be easier to separate evidence about Critique and Revision from claims that have not been tested.
After this lesson
- In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review.
- Use the idea of “Critique and Revision” to interpret one realistic situation.
- Explain the limits of the concept and the information that still needs to be checked.
Start with the situation
Understand the situation first. The label can come later.
A model retrieves a policy from selected sources, drafts an answer, and checks it against a rubric. This lesson uses the idea of “Critique and Revision” to examine that situation without treating a single term as the answer to every problem.
In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review. Break down complex work, ask the model to critique its output, use sources, and add tools where they help. Connect the term to a decision someone genuinely needs to make.
See how the decision unfolds
Move from the situation to a choice others can review.
01
Situation
A model retrieves a policy from selected sources, drafts an answer, and checks it against a rubric. This lesson uses the idea of “Critique and Revision” to examine that situation without treating a single term as the answer to every problem.
02
Decision
A model retrieves a policy from selected sources, drafts an answer, and checks it against a rubric. Identify the part of the situation most closely connected to the idea of “Critique and Revision”. Use the case as a thinking tool, not as proof that one solution fits every context.
03
Review
Every extra step adds time, cost, and another place where the workflow can fail. This mistake often appears when a label is used before the problem is understood. Write down your assumptions so another person can review them.
Visual model
Map the parts before choosing what to do.
Read the diagram as a map of Critique and Revision: begin with the context, follow the connections, and inspect the highlighted point before making a decision.
Do not rush the choice
Two ways to look at Critique and Revision
Useful when
- In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review.
- Use the idea of “Critique and Revision” to interpret one realistic situation.
- In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review. Break down complex work, ask the model to critique its output, use sources, and add tools where they help. Connect the term to a decision someone genuinely needs to make.
Pause and check
- Every extra step adds time, cost, and another place where the workflow can fail. This mistake often appears when a label is used before the problem is understood. Write down your assumptions so another person can review them.
- Explain the limits of the concept and the information that still needs to be checked.
The stronger choice is the one whose evidence, owner, and limits can be explained, not simply the more sophisticated option.
Try it on your work
Try it with one small piece of real work.
- Choose one real situation related to Critique and Revision.
- Separate what you can observe from what you are assuming.
- Write one decision, its owner, and the evidence needed to review it.
- Name the signal that would make you stop or change direction.
Choose a task you know. List what is known, what is still an assumption, and what must be tested before using the idea of “Critique and Revision”. The larger module activity is: Design a multi-step prompt workflow with one human checkpoint. Keep the first version small enough for another person to review in a few minutes.
Pause for a moment
What evidence could change this decision?
Answer before opening the discussion. Name one fact and one assumption.
Open the discussion
In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review. Ask two questions about Critique and Revision. What is it, and which decision becomes clearer once you understand it? Afterward, it should be easier to separate evidence about Critique and Revision from claims that have not been tested.
A tempting shortcut
A familiar term can still lead us to the wrong decision.
Why this can seem reasonable
Every extra step adds time, cost, and another place where the workflow can fail. This mistake often appears when a label is used before the problem is understood. Write down your assumptions so another person can review them.
How to check it
Ask two questions about Critique and Revision. What is it, and which decision becomes clearer once you understand it? Begin with what can be observed, then separate facts, assumptions, and open questions.
Quick practice
Choose a task you know. List what is known, what is still an assumption, and what must be tested before using the idea of “Critique and Revision”. The larger module activity is: Design a multi-step prompt workflow with one human checkpoint.
Summary
- In Prompting, use Critique and Revision to make the next step explicit and easier for another person to review.
- Use examples and evidence to test your understanding.
- Record the limits, risks, and conditions that should trigger another review.
Continue from here
- Retrieval and Tools: Continue the idea from Advanced Prompt Workflows with a closely related example.
- Context and Data Flow: Connect this lesson to Applied AI and test the idea in another context.
- Classification and Similarity: See how the same decision changes when viewed through Data Literacy.
Sources and further reading
- Prompt engineering: OpenAI · official-documentation. Primary reference for the definition, evidence, or limits discussed in “Critique and Revision”.
- Evaluation best practices: OpenAI · official-documentation. Further evidence and context for checking the explanation in “Critique and Revision”.
- Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search: Google Search Central · official-documentation. Further evidence and context for checking the explanation in “Critique and Revision”.