Guided multi-step workflow

Build and Defend an Evidence-Grounded Academic Argument

Move from a bounded academic question through source triage, a pre-draft evidence ledger, learner-owned argument development, claim verification, and an assessor-owned oral defence.

Workflow ID
AMO-W-000029
Steps
7
Published
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Outcome

Help a university student move from an answerable question and defensible source set to a traceable argument, challenged draft, verified citations and oral defence evidence without outsourcing final authorship.

Before you begin

Gather the required inputs before starting. Keep missing information visible and follow each step’s review guidance before continuing.

  • Assignment or research-question context and marking or disciplinary constraints.
  • Candidate sources with stable citations or links and permitted excerpts.
  • The learner’s own notes, preliminary position and known counterarguments.
  • A draft argument when the challenge and citation stages begin.
  • Applicable AI-use and disclosure rules.

Ordered sequence

Workflow steps

Complete the steps in order. Review each result before carrying approved information into the next step. Some steps can run in Workplace; manual or external steps remain clearly identified.

  1. Step 1 Bound the research question

    Refine the proposed question into a bounded, answerable question while preserving the learner’s intended claim and disciplinary context.

    Prompt: Research Question Refinement Prompt

    Input for this step

    Provide the brief, initial question, scope constraints and available evidence domain.

    Carry forward

    Question-and-scope card containing the exact question, boundaries, subquestions and evidence needs.

    Review note

    The learner and lecturer or supervisor should confirm that the refined question still satisfies the academic task.

    Open prompt
  2. Step 2 Triage source reliability and relevance

    Evaluate candidate sources for authority, method, relevance, currency, conflicts and usable scope before treating them as argument evidence.

    Prompt: Source Reliability Triage Prompt

    Input for this step

    Pass the question-and-scope card and candidate source metadata or authorized excerpts.

    Carry forward

    Admissible-source register with include, qualify, exclude and retrieve-full-text decisions.

    Review note

    The learner remains responsible for reading included sources and checking citations in the originals.

    Open prompt
  3. Step 3 Build the evidence ledger

    Separate source findings, learner interpretation, counterevidence, uncertainty and potential claims before drafting prose.

    Prompt: Reading-to-Argument Evidence Ledger

    Input for this step

    Pass the question card, admissible-source register and the learner’s source notes.

    Carry forward

    Claim-to-evidence ledger with counterevidence, confidence and unresolved research needs.

    Review note

    The learner should verify every material ledger entry against the original source.

    Open prompt
  4. Step 4 Synthesize the argument structure

    Use the verified ledger to synthesize patterns, contradictions, limitations and a defensible argument map without inventing consensus.

    Prompt: Literature Review Synthesis Prompt

    Input for this step

    Pass only verified ledger entries and the bounded question; mark sources that are unavailable in full text.

    Carry forward

    Argument map showing thesis options, evidence chains, counterarguments, limitations and unresolved gaps.

    Review note

    The learner chooses and owns the thesis; the system may compare options but must not make an authorship decision.

    Open prompt
  5. Step 5 Challenge the learner’s draft

    Test the learner-written draft against the argument map and evidence ledger for unsupported claims, missing counterevidence, reasoning gaps and completion risks.

    Prompt: Evidence-Grounded AI Output Verification and Release Gate

    Input for this step

    Provide the learner’s own draft, the verified ledger and applicable assignment requirements.

    Carry forward

    Bounded draft-challenge record with claim-level findings and learner-owned revision actions.

    Review note

    The learner must make and understand final wording changes; a reviewer should handle any high-stakes academic-integrity question.

    Open prompt
  6. Step 6 Verify claim provenance and citations

    Trace every consequential draft claim to the original source and qualify claims whose citation, scope or authority is insufficient.

    Prompt: Claim Provenance Chain and Citation Traceability Audit

    Input for this step

    Pass the revised draft, source register and originals or authorized excerpts.

    Carry forward

    Claim-provenance register and final citation-correction queue.

    Review note

    The learner or researcher must open and verify every cited original before submission.

    Open prompt
  7. Step 7 Prepare and conduct an oral defence probe

    Create artefact-linked questions that test the learner’s reasoning, evidence choices, counterarguments and limitations without treating fluency as proof of authorship.

    Prompt: Viva and Oral Defence Evidence Probe Builder

    Input for this step

    Provide the final learner-owned artefact, provenance register and disclosed limitations.

    Carry forward

    Oral-defence probe pack and evidence record for the authorized assessor.

    Review note

    Only the authorized assessor interprets the oral evidence or makes any academic decision.

    Open prompt

Completion criteria

Complete when:

  • The question is bounded and accepted for the task.
  • Each material claim traces through the evidence ledger to a checked original source.
  • Counterevidence, limitations and unresolved uncertainty are visible in the final artefact.
  • The learner made and can explain the final reasoning and wording decisions.
  • Required AI-use disclosure and citation checks are complete under the applicable rules.
  • The authorized assessor, not the AI system, owns any grade or authorship conclusion.
  • Pause and escalation:
  • Pause when the learner cannot access a consequential original source or its use is not licensed.
  • Pause when course AI-use or disclosure rules are missing or contradictory; ask the lecturer or policy owner.
  • Escalate suspected misconduct, authorship or grading questions to the authorized academic process; do not infer them from model output.
  • Return to source collection when the argument depends on missing, weak or contradictory evidence.

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