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Citing sources and not beating about the bush
A useful citation fits in an inline bracket right after the sentence it proves, one source per bracket, with no separate section at the end of the message, and a direct answer states the fact instead of announcing it and then closing with a polite question.
Claude can provide detailed citations when it answers from documents attached to the conversation, which makes it possible to trace and check the source behind every claim, and every active model supports this feature. The question that remains open is not whether an answer can be sourced, it is where to place the source so that it actually serves the reading.
The bracket replaces the list at the end of the message
The convention adopted in this course is simple: every claim that comes from a specific source carries an inline bracket, attached to the sentence that contains it, one source per bracket. No separate section at the bottom of the answer, no numbered reference to hunt for three paragraphs further down. The reader sees the proof at the moment they read the claim, not after finishing everything else.
Avant : Les prix des noms de domaine varient selon les extensions. Sources : [1] [2] [3].
Après : Le renouvellement d'un .fr coûte environ 8 euros par an chez ce bureau [page tarifs].The second version fits in one sentence and its proof, exactly where it is needed. The first refers to a list nobody consults, precisely the reflex to drop.
Answering without a preamble or a polite question
An old practice consisted of writing the very start of the answer yourself to avoid an opening formula such as Here is the answer requested. This trick has changed shape: current documentation now recommends giving the instruction directly in the opening instructions, worded along the lines of answer directly with no preamble, never start with phrases like Here is, According to. The principle stays the same, the answer starts with the fact, not with a sentence announcing that it is coming.
The closing follows the same logic. Ending with a question like does that suit you or would you like me to add nothing to an answer that has just cited its source: stop the answer at its last useful sentence. This is a drafting instruction to apply in your own requests, not a behaviour Claude would choose on its own without being asked to.
One single rule for both halves
Placing the source in the right spot and cutting what adds nothing are the same discipline applied to two ends of the answer, the beginning and every claim running through it. This requirement of form connects with composing a system prompt from several sources: a drafting rule that works gets written once in the opening instructions, rather than being fixed by hand on every answer received.
An answer that hedges against an answer that cites and concludes
Voici la réponse à votre question. Les prix varient selon les extensions choisies. Sources : [1] [2] [3]. N'hésitez pas si vous voulez plus de détails.
Le renouvellement d'un .fr coûte environ 8 euros par an chez ce bureau [page tarifs].
A non profit asks Claude how much it costs to renew its domain name, and attaches to the conversation a page from its registrar's help service. Claude answers in a single sentence, with a bracket placed immediately after this sentence pointing to the attached page.
Write in one sentence what this situation establishes, and in one sentence what it does not establish.
What this establishes: The answer links its single claim to the attached page through a bracket placed immediately after the sentence, which makes it possible to check this specific claim without hunting for a separate list.
What this does not establish: It does not establish that Claude always cites its sources this way on another question, nor that the figure returned is accurate, only that this bracket points to the attached page supplied.
The three most common miscalibrations
- Too broad Claude now systematically cites every claim it produces, whatever type of question is asked.
- Too narrow Only one question having been asked and no other answer compared, this observation says nothing about how Claude cites its sources.
- Beside the point This answer shows that the renewal price displayed on the attached page has not changed since the non profit's last invoice.
- A bracket attached to the sentence beats a list of sources relegated to the end of the answer, because the reader can check it without leaving the line they are reading.
- Answering directly with no announcement sentence is set up in the opening instructions, not by erasing by hand the start of every answer received.
- An answer stops at its last useful sentence, a polite question at the end of a message adds no new information.
- The same rule of citation and clarity applies just as much to a text you draft yourself as to an answer requested from Claude.
Take the last factual answer you received from Claude, remove any opening or closing sentence that adds nothing, and place each source in brackets right after the claim it proves.
These points depend on an interface or a rule that may have changed since this was written. Check them on your own screen before relying on them.
- The exact format of the citations Claude displays when it uses web search is not guaranteed to be identical to the bracket convention taught here: open a recent answer obtained with web search enabled and look at how the sources are presented on your screen.
Every datable claim in this lesson links here to the public text behind it. A source that does not open proves nothing.
- Anthropic, Citations consultée le 2026-09-02
- Anthropic, Prompting best practices, section on removing preambles consultée le 2026-09-02