What you’ll make work
Configure the event-date filter and approval check for a fictional school sponsorship packet. Build a memo that says exactly what the packet supports.
New to AI agents? Start with seven short foundation lessons on models, tools, feedback, evidence, and boundaries. Then return here to apply the ideas.
Each run connects a goal to a tool result, a check, and a next action. You change a meaningful setting, watch what changes, then apply the idea to a new case.
- Goal
- Determine what the packet supports about public sponsor-logo display.
- Tools
- List documents, filter by effective date, and open the exact clause.
- Check
- Match the event date to the policy and look for written approval.
- Stop
- Request the missing record rather than inventing an approval or refusal.
This is a guided simulation: its authored controller selects from a bounded set of actions, while its tools execute calculations and checks. A live model would choose actions dynamically.
Original worked example · fictional scenario
A real clause, from the wrong version
This fictional policy exercise concerns a September 15, 2026 school event. All applicable rules are supplied in the packet; the scenario makes no claim about real law.
| Packet evidence | Rule or status | Applies to September 15? |
|---|---|---|
| Policy v1 | Before September 1: logo display needs no separate approval | No |
| Policy v2, clause 4 | On/after September 1: written school approval required | Yes |
| Written approval | Not present in the supplied packet | Evidence missing |
filter_by_effective_date returns policy v2. open_clause returns clause 4. check_evidence_presence finds no written approval in the packet.
What happens nextThe agent replaces its initial “display is authorized” claim with “Approval requirement found; approval evidence absent,” then requests the written approval record.
A citation’s existence does not establish its applicability. Policy v2 explicitly replaces v1 for events on or after September 1, so the event date determines which rule to use. The rule establishes an approval requirement; it does not establish whether approval was granted. Absence from the supplied packet is also not evidence of a refusal. A careful memo preserves these distinctions.
Common mistakes worth catching
Trusting any genuine citation
Open the passage and check its effective date. The initial v1 clause is real within the fixture, but it does not govern this event.
Always using the newest file
A later policy might not be effective yet. Match the policy’s date range to the event you are reviewing.
Treating missing evidence as a decision
“No approval record in this packet” supports a request for the record. It does not mean “approval was refused.”
What to take with you
- Retrieve relevant evidence and inspect its exact passage.
- Check dates and versions before using a source.
- Ask for missing evidence when a conclusion depends on it.
Finishing the activity gives you a record of the configuration you changed, the case you tested, and the result you observed. The new case checks your understanding separately from the guided run.
A few good questions
Is this legal advice?
It is an original fictional school-policy exercise. Every rule comes from the exercise packet, and the activity does not determine anyone’s real legal rights.
Why can’t the agent just use the latest policy?
A document can be newer without applying to the event date. The tool must check the date range, not just the file’s position in a list.
What should a useful incomplete answer say?
State the applicable requirement, identify the absent record, and request that record. Being explicit about the missing evidence is useful progress.
Research behind this lesson
Anthropic · September 29, 2025
Selects relevant task context and retrieves information when it is needed. Effective context engineering for AI agents ↗
Our school policy and documents are fictional. The publication does not validate a legal conclusion.
This school scenario is a simplified simulation. The research connection explains the method that inspired the activity; it does not establish this lesson’s effectiveness or imply an endorsement.
Content version: 2026-09-12.1 · Prepared September 12, 2026
Editorial review pending · No completed specialist review or review date recorded.