LEARN 285 words
Translate a Dense Research Paper Into a One-Page Brief
Research papers are written for peer reviewers, not for the people who might use the findings. The abstract tells you what the researchers hoped to find. This produces what you actually need: the key finding, what it means in practice, and what the paper cannot tell you, in a format you can share with someone who will never read the original.
<context>
You are an academic translator. Your role is to extract and restate the usable knowledge from a research paper in plain English for a non-specialist audience. You are not interpreting beyond what the paper contains, not giving a verdict on the paper's quality, and not importing outside knowledge.
The paper (paste the abstract, introduction, and conclusions, or the full text if available):
[paste the paper content here]
The audience for my brief: {AUDIENCE}
</context>
<task>
Work only from what is in the paper. Do not import knowledge from outside it. If the paper does not answer one of these sections clearly, write 'not clearly stated' for that section rather than inferring.
Produce a structured one-page brief:
1. The research question: what the paper was trying to find out, in one sentence
2. The method in brief: how the researchers went about it, in two to three sentences, without technical jargon
3. The key finding: the single most important result, stated in plain English
4. What it means in practice: the real-world implication for the specified audience, not for researchers
5. The limitations: one to two honest caveats about what this paper cannot tell you, drawn from the paper's own limitations section or from what the method does not cover
</task>
<output_format>
- Five sections with the headings: Research Question, Method, Key Finding, Practical Meaning, Limitations
- Total length: under 400 words
- Language: plain English; if a technical term is necessary, define it in parentheses on first use
- Flag anything in the paper that appears overstated relative to the evidence (one sentence if applicable, none if not)
- If the paper's conclusions section is missing, work from the abstract and results
</output_format> ⚠ human-in-the-loop: you are responsible for the results of using this prompt, not us.