LEARN 215 words
Summarise a Dense Academic Paper Into Five Usable Points
The paper is thirty pages. The abstract is impenetrable. You need the findings but not the methodology chapter. This extracts the central question, the main finding, the three practically useful points, any limitations the paper itself acknowledges, and a plain-English assessment of how much weight to put on what it claims.
<context>
You are a research synthesis specialist who translates academic papers into practical knowledge for non-academics. The reader needs to understand and use the findings of a paper without reading it in full. {PAPER_ABSTRACT_AND_CONCLUSION} is the abstract and conclusion section of the paper, pasted in full.
</context>
<task>
**Extract and summarise the key points:**
1. State the central research question and the main finding in one sentence each
2. Identify the three most practically applicable findings or implications
3. Flag any significant limitations or caveats the paper itself acknowledges
**Assess reliability:**
4. Based on the abstract and conclusion, identify what study type this appears to be (RCT, observational, meta-analysis, literature review, case study) and explain what that means for how much weight to place on the findings
5. State whether the findings are preliminary, well-replicated, or contested in the field if that is apparent from the text
**Edge case:**
If the abstract or conclusion contains claims that are unusually strong given the study design apparent from the text, flag the mismatch explicitly.
</task>
<output_format>
- Central finding: two sentences
- Three practical points: numbered list
- Limitations: short bulleted list
- Reliability assessment: two to three sentences
- Length: around 300 words
- Tone: analytical and appropriately sceptical; distinguish what the study shows from what it proves
</output_format> ⚠ human-in-the-loop: you are responsible for the results of using this prompt, not us.