cite-before-answer

name: cite-before-answer description: "Verify all claims are backed by evidence before producing a final answer. Use when completing research tasks, writing cited answers, or ensuring factual accuracy." keywords: ["cite", "citation", "evidence", "reference", "fact-check", "verify"] related: [research-protocol, task-decomposition] token_cost: 120

Cite-before-answer checklist

Before typing your final answer, run this check internally:

1. Call evidence-list. Confirm it is non-empty.
2. For each claim in your planned answer, identify the evidence id(s) that support it.
3. If any claim has no id → either remove the claim, or go gather one more piece of evidence.
4. Prefix your final answer with Citations: e1, e2, … listing the ids you used.

Rules

• A final answer with zero citations is invalid on research tasks
• NEVER guess — always back claims with evidence ids
• ALWAYS call evidence-list before answering
• If any claim has no evidence id, remove it or gather evidence first

Example

Citations: e1, e2, e3

The Turing machine was invented in 1936 by Alan Turing [e1].

Workflow

1. List evidence: Call evidence-list to see all saved evidence IDs
2. Map claims: Match each planned claim to a supporting evidence ID
3. Fill gaps: Remove uncited claims or gather more evidence
4. Prefix answer: Start with Citations: e1, e2, … listing all used IDs