Start with the output
The requested output is a concise workshop content brief for independent consultants. It may state the two-hour planning offer and confirmed-detail constraint. It must leave schedule and price unresolved.
That output definition sets the packet boundary. A source excerpt belongs only when it supports one of those fields.
Give every excerpt a job
The fixed packet contains:
- Reader excerpt: independent consultants.
- Offer excerpt: a two-hour planning session.
- Constraint excerpt: use confirmed details only.
- Schedule unknown: the source does not confirm Saturday sessions.
- Price unknown: the source supplies no cost.
The packet rejects the first brief's Saturday sentence because none of the selected material supports it.
Include the boundary, not just the excerpts
Record the task question, permitted source set, selected passages, source identifiers, exclusions, and unresolved claims. Keep the excerpts short enough that a reviewer can compare them with the draft.
Input: task definition plus source collection. Transformation: select, label, and order evidence by the brief fields it supports. Output: one packet and a list of questions the sources cannot settle.
Selection stops when every material brief element has support or an explicit unknown. More text after that point adds volume without improving the decision.
Review the packet before the brief
Check that each excerpt answers the task rather than merely sharing vocabulary. Confirm that no source belongs to another client, subject, or time period. Remove duplicated passages unless the second source changes the meaning or confidence.
This method fits source-grounded writing, comparison, planning, and operating documents. It is a poor fit for a task whose decisive facts have not been collected yet. Retrieval cannot replace missing source work.