Developed by Leo S. Lo, the CLEAR framework encompasses five core principles —Concise, Logical, Explicit, Adaptive, and Reflective—that facilitate more effective AI-generated content evaluation and creation.
![]() |
Concise • Brevity and clarity in prompts
Example: Explain the process of tariffs and their significance to U.S. economy. |
![]() |
Logical • Structured and coherent prompts
Example: List the steps for writing a literature review, beginning with topic selection and ending with product and citations. VS Describe the steps for writing a literature review for a critical essay, starting with developing a main topic and ending with an analysis of citations. |
![]() |
Explicit • Clear output specifications
Example: What factors are attributed to the growth of ecommerce? VS Provide an overview of the growth of e-commerce, its impact on traditional retail, and the challenges of online shopping. |
![]() |
Adaptive • Flexibility and customization in prompts.
Example: Discuss the impact of GenAI on the environment. VS Explain the environmental impact of artificial intelligence as it relates to energy consumption, water, and carbon emissions. |
![]() |
Reflective • Continuous evaluation and improvement of prompts
Consider: It's been my experience (Diane) that the quality of results is improved when asking the platform to share its sources and tell me if it does not know. In some cases, response options from GenAI may prompt users to determine the best path moving forward Example: Provide an overview of ethical implications related to using generative AI as it relates to copyright, intellectual property, gathering user data, and equity. Share your sources. Tell me if you don’t know. |
Lo, L.S. (2023). The CLEAR path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [AI Chatbot]. https://chatgpt.com/
Perplexity AI. (2025, April 8). Perplexity response to a user query. Retrieved from Perplexity AI Platform.