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Source and Claim Review Checklist.
Review your draft and decide what to support, verify, revise or remove. A practical source-review tool for consultants and small agencies, for any draft resource, article or checklist.
Enter your email and reply VERIFY to the short email we send you. We email you the PDF, then four short follow-up emails over two weeks on using our free Brief Builder (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack). No account or paid tool required.
What is inside the checklist.
Two fillable pages you can use with an existing draft, article, checklist or client resource.
- Page 1: use it independently. Three steps for reviewing one draft, the ten review checks and a decision rule for uncertain wording.
- Page 2: record the claim and the review decision. A worked example and three claim records, each with space for the actual wording, the source and passage, and your decision with its next action.
- Fillable fields. Tick the checks and type your decisions, or print the pages and write by hand.
The checklist does not need the Brief Builder or any paid tool. If you want a fuller walk-through first, read Review AI-written lead magnet claims before publishing.
Start with one draft.
Follow these three steps to review a resource, article or checklist.
Choose
Pick one draft. Write down its intended audience and how they will use it. Then read the statements a reader might rely on.
Review
Check the source passages and your permission to use them. Record unresolved claims on page 2.
Resolve
Verify, revise or remove uncertain wording. Then run the checks again before you share the draft.
You can use this checklist on its own. The Brief Builder is not required.
Ten checks before you publish.
Tick an item only after checking it against your draft and its supporting material.
- I can use the material for this audience and purpose.
- Every factual statement has an identifiable supporting source.
- The source passage supports the actual wording of the claim.
- Dates, versions and product details have been checked.
- Numbers, comparisons and results are verified or removed.
- Illustrative scenarios are labelled and contain no claimed client result.
- Quotes and endorsements are real and permitted for this use.
- Private identifiers and restricted material are excluded.
- Advice and offer descriptions stay within supported scope.
- Each unresolved claim has a recorded next action before publication.
Make a clear review decision. Keep a supported statement within its source scope. Verify a missing detail, narrow wording that overreaches, and remove a claim that cannot be supported. An unchecked item is a review task, not permission to publish.
See one claim reviewed. Illustrative example
This is the worked example from page 2. The source note was written for the checklist; it is not a client record.
Claim
"Before kickoff, name the approval owner."
Sample source note
"Collect objective, approval owner, assets, timing constraints and open questions."
Decision
Supported as a preparation step. It does not support a revenue promise.
Two harder cases Illustrative
These claims and source notes were written for this page. They are not from a client draft.
| Claim in the draft | What the source shows | Decision and next action |
|---|---|---|
| "Teams that use this checklist save 3 hours a week." | No source. Nobody measured the time, so the number has nothing behind it. | Remove. Delete the claim. A time figure needs a real, documented measurement. |
| "Works for any industry." | The source note covers agency kickoffs only. | Revise. Narrow it to the source's scope: "Designed for agency kickoffs." |
For more wording patterns to watch for, see the table Statements that deserve a closer look in our claim-review guide.
Record the claim and your next action.
Log up to three important claims. Save the review record with your draft and its approved source material.
Claim 1
- Actual wording
- Source and passage
- Keep, verify, revise or remove, with the next action
Claim 2
- Actual wording
- Source and passage
- Keep, verify, revise or remove, with the next action
Claim 3
- Actual wording
- Source and passage
- Keep, verify, revise or remove, with the next action
| Decision | When to use it | Next action to record |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | The source passage supports the statement as written. | Note the source and keep the wording within its scope. |
| Verify | A date, version, number or product detail is missing or unconfirmed. | Name what to check and where, and finish it before publication. |
| Revise | The wording goes further than the source supports. | Narrow the wording so it matches the passage. |
| Remove | No source supports the claim, or you lack permission to use it. | Delete the claim from the draft. |
Identify sources by title, date or version, and a passage or source ID. Resolve each factual claim's next action before publication.
Download, complete and keep your review.
Open the PDF in a reader that supports forms. Type into the fields, or print and write by hand. Save a copy, then reopen it to confirm your answers remain.
First time here? The button opens a short sign-up box for your first name and email. Press “Send my confirmation email”, then reply VERIFY to the short email we send you, so we know the address is yours, and we email you the PDF. After that come four short follow-up emails over two weeks on using our free Brief Builder (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack). Every email has an unsubscribe link. Already opened a link from one of our emails on this device? Then the button downloads the PDF directly. Trouble opening or saving? Visit Help & Downloads.
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