Key points
- Retry-with-error-feedback: the follow-up includes the original document, the failed extraction and the specific validation errors.
- Retries are ineffective when the required information is absent from the source; they work for format mismatches and structural errors.
- A detected_pattern field records which construct triggered a finding, so dismissals can be analyzed for systematic false positives.
- Semantic errors (values that do not sum, wrong field placement) differ from schema syntax errors, which tool use eliminates.
- Extracting calculated_total next to stated_total and adding conflict_detected lets the output flag its own inconsistencies.
Common misconceptions
- "Resending the same prompt is a retry." Without the errors it is a blind re-roll.
- "Enough retries will eventually find the missing value." Absent data stays absent; the retries just cost money.
- "Schema validation catches wrong values." It catches wrong shapes.
Watch for
- Retry loops that never classify why the validation failed.
- Pressure to fill required fields, which invites fabrication.
- Findings that carry only a message and severity, leaving dismissals impossible to analyze.
Practice Task 4.4
Start with the free 10-question check to see where you stand across all five domains. In CCA Prep Studio, 56 practice items cover this task, each tracked toward your mastery score.