reader-comprehension-pass

Reader comprehension pass

The user reads agent-authored technical documents as a researcher would, and repeatedly hits concepts that prose alone does not convey. Apply these rules while drafting, and run the audit before delivering.

Illustrate hard concepts with figures

• When a central concept is spatial, geometric, or quantitative and the prose is doing heavy lifting, draw it instead of explaining harder. Prefer a figure carrying real values from the work over an abstract sketch — e.g. "search box floor" only became legible as a diagram showing an actual proposal point (8.15, 4.06) clipped to the constraint-box wall at (6.8, 5.2).

Define jargon at first mention

• Give every domain term the target reader may not know a plain-terms definition at its first use (the user could not parse "Sn-based non-convergence" or "censored loss" left bare in a manuscript).
• Keep the distance between a concept's first mention and its explanation minimal — order sections so the reader has the needed background at the point of first mention, never referencing a concept long before it is explained.

Audit before delivering

• Before handing over a draft, reread it as a first-time reader and list every term or concept that would be unintuitive. Fix each one (figure, definition, reordering) or flag it explicitly in your response. The user expects this proactively — do not wait to be asked "what else is not intuitive?"

Test an unprompted explanation

For a substantial explanation or paper revision, ask a fresh reader to retell the problem, proposed insight, essential operation, and demonstrated finding using only the audience-facing material. Give the audience brief but withhold author notes, later slides in a prefix test, expected answers, and prior critiques. Ask where the text supplied each prerequisite, rather than letting an expert fill gaps from outside knowledge. Record what was misunderstood or could not be answered, and repair the first causal gap before adding more definitions.