13 min · Advanced
Lab: Five Visual Challenges
Practice five visual tasks, from a confusing settings screen to a short action memo you can grade against the source.
Learning objectives
- Complete five visual challenges using your own files or the described examples in this lesson.
- Grade an action memo on quoted evidence, uncertainty, a next action, and the absence of new facts.
- Leave a verification line that says how you checked the memo against the original.
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Why this matters
Reading one example is not the same as producing a note you would hand to someone else. These five challenges reuse the routines from the earlier lessons on a screen, a chart, a product, a document, and a memo. The memo is where people smuggle in new facts, so you will grade it on purpose. Your own files stay in your hands: share only what you are allowed to share.
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Concept
An action memo — a short note that says what you saw, what is uncertain, and what to do next — is the product of this lab. Grade it on four tests. Quoted evidence — words or numbers copied from the source, not a stronger paraphrase. Uncertainty — a plain statement of what you could not see. Next action — one step a person can take. No new facts — nothing the source did not state.
Challenge 1: analyze a screenshot of a confusing settings page you pick. Use the four screenshot questions and admit if it is cropped. Challenge 2: analyze a simple chart you upload, or use only these Northline Coffee figures: January 800, February 760, March 1100, April 1040, May 1500, June 1420 dollars. Do not invent a trend. If upload fails, type the numbers. Check the current screen for upload buttons and model names before you rely on a file type.
Challenge 3: analyze a product image you are allowed to share, or the mug notes from the previous lesson. Visible attributes first, then copy that stays inside them. Challenge 4: extract fields from a document you are allowed to share, or from the sample letter in the example on this page. Ask for parties, dates, amounts, obligations, and blank fields. This is reading help, not legal advice. Leave blanks blank.
Challenge 5: turn one of those visuals into an action memo of about 150 words, plus a verification line — a final sentence that says how you checked the memo against the original. Read the memo as if you did not trust it. Highlight any sentence you cannot point to in the source. Delete that sentence or move it into an uncertainty line. The exercise below is challenge 1. The lesson challenge is challenge 5.
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Real-world example
A sample letter you can extract without uploading a private file
Use this letter if you cannot share a real document. Mara Ellison of Ellison Studio writes to Jonah Peck of Peck Cafe on 2 March 2026. Ellison will deliver 40 stoneware mugs by 20 March 2026 at 28 dollars each. Peck pays half on 2 March and half on delivery. The delivery address line is blank. No late fee is stated. A careful extraction names Ellison and Peck as the parties, the two dates, the count of 40, the price of 28 dollars, the two payment obligations, and the address as blank. It does not invent a street, a late fee, or a signing recommendation. That same fence is how you grade the action memo in challenge 5: every operational sentence should survive the same point-back-to-the-source test.
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Gemini demonstration
A realistic exchange. Open Gemini beside this page and try a version with your own facts.
You
Source, and the only source: Northline Coffee stall revenue in dollars, January 800, February 760, March 1100, April 1040, May 1500, June 1420. Write an action memo of about 150 words for the stall owner. Include quoted figures, one uncertainty, and one next action. End with a verification line that says how I should check you. Do not invent a trend, a cause, a forecast, or a month. Do not give business advice beyond what these numbers support.
Gemini
Action memo. Quoted figures, in dollars: January 800, February 760, March 1100, April 1040, May 1500, June 1420. May is the highest at 1500. The largest change is April 1040 to May 1500, a rise of 460. June is 1420, which is 80 below May. Uncertainty: this list does not show costs, days open, prices, or any cause. I cannot say why May is higher. Next action: recompute 1500 minus 1040, then decide whether you need a different source before you change staffing or orders. Do not treat May as a trend. Verification line: check each quoted month against the list above, and reject any sentence that names a cause, a forecast, or a month other than these six.
You
Grade your memo with my four tests: quoted evidence, uncertainty, next action, and no new facts. The sentence about staffing and orders goes past the numbers. Remove it. Keep the verification line. Do not add a replacement recommendation that is really a new fact.
Gemini
Grade against your four tests. Quoted evidence: the six months and the 460 subtraction are tied to numbers you supplied. Uncertainty: the memo says causes, costs, days open, and prices are absent. That part passes. Next action failed your review: suggesting a staffing or ordering decision smuggles in a business move the numbers do not contain. I remove that sentence. Replacement next action, which is only a check: recompute 1500 minus 1040 before you repeat the rise of 460. No new facts are added. Verification line: match every figure to the six-month list, and delete any line that names a cause, a forecast, or an action the list does not support.
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Prompt breakdown
The prompt
Source, and the only source: Northline Coffee stall revenue in dollars, January 800, February 760, March 1100, April 1040, May 1500, June 1420. Write an action memo of about 150 words for the stall owner. Include quoted figures, one uncertainty, and one next action. End with a verification line that says how I should check you. Do not invent a trend, a cause, a forecast, or a month. Do not give business advice beyond what these numbers support.
- It names the only source, so later sentences can be traced to that list or marked as failures.
- It requires quoted figures, which gives the memo evidence instead of a vibe.
- Uncertainty and a next action are both required, which matches the grading tests you will use.
- The verification line tells a reader how to check the memo, and the bans block a trend and extra advice.
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Common mistakes
Usually
Turn this screenshot into a confident memo about what the team should change this quarter.
Better
Write an action memo from this screenshot only. Quote visible labels, state what the crop hides, give one next action, and add a verification line. Add no new facts.
Usually
I am not allowed to share the client file, but I will upload it anyway because the model forgets chats.
Better
Use the sample letter on this page, or a document you are allowed to share. Do not upload a file just because a chat feels private.
Usually
Skip the quote and write the memo in a polished voice so it sounds finished.
Better
Keep quoted evidence in the memo. A polished sentence that does not point back to the source fails the grade, even if it reads well.
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Practice exercise
Challenge 1: a confusing settings page
Done when: You have a five-line note for a real settings screen, with at least one line that says what the image did not show, and no private identifiers in the upload.
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Challenge
Challenge 5: a 150-word action memo
Choose one source you already trust: your settings note, the Northline figures, the mug spec, or the Ellison letter. Ask for an action memo of about 150 words with quoted evidence, one uncertainty, one next action, and a verification line. Grade it yourself. Mark any sentence you cannot point to in the source. If a sentence adds a cause or a new fact, delete it or move the doubt into the uncertainty line. The next action must be something you can do without new facts, such as rechecking a number or reshooting a crop. Keep the verification line last. Do not accept the memo until it passes the four tests.
Hint: A memo fails if it sounds decisive but you cannot put your finger on the word or number that supports the sentence.
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Key takeaways
- The lab is five challenges: a settings screenshot, a chart, a product image, a document extraction, and an action memo.
- Grade the memo on quoted evidence, uncertainty, a next action, and no new facts.
- A verification line tells the reader how to check the memo against the original.
- Use your own files only when you are allowed to share them. Otherwise use the Northline figures or the sample letter.
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