Keep, edit, verify, ask again, or reject

Unit ID: AIT-M03-U04 Estimated active time: 15-20 minutes

The main idea

Review should end with a clear decision.

A review that ends in an impression is not finished. Naming which of five things you are doing is what turns reading into reviewing.

Why this matters

Without a named decision, the default is to use the output with light edits — regardless of what the review found. The decision step is what makes rejecting possible.

Safe example

A draft email is useful, but two claims need checking before sending.

That is not "keep" and not "reject". It is verify, and the two claims are a short to-do list.

Better working habit

Choose one decision: keep, edit, verify first, ask a follow-up, or reject.

Match the decision to what is wrong. Tone and a few words is an edit. Wrong shape throughout is a follow-up. Something you cannot check is a rejection.

What to watch for

Do not keep editing a weak output when starting again would be safer.

If you are changing more than about a third of it, you are doing the work twice — once reading, once rewriting.

Mini practice

Assign one final decision to three sample outputs and explain why.

Then check whether any of your three was really a rejection you were reluctant to make.

Check yourself

Before moving on, answer:

• Which of the five decisions am I making?
• What specifically is wrong, and does my decision match it?
• If I am editing heavily, would starting again be quicker and safer?