--- title: "Tell quoted text from paraphrase in agent handoffs" slug: tell-quoted-text-from-paraphrase-in-agent-handoffs excerpt: "Separate a person's exact words from an agent's restatement. Open the earlier passage and ask what was shortened, omitted or added before you act." quickAnswer: "Read the quotation marks as boundaries around exact words. Open the earlier passage and compare those words with the handoff. A paraphrase uses the agent's wording, so label what it shortens, omits or adds as interpretation. Keep each person's words apart. If the boundary is unclear, ask for the exact line before acting on it." keyTakeaways: - Quotation marks mark where exact wording begins and ends. - A paraphrase can shorten a passage while leaving out a condition you need. - An agent's interpretation belongs apart from the person's quoted words. - Ask for the earlier line when a handoff blurs quotation and restatement. publishedDate: 2026-10-24 dateModified: 2026-10-24 author: Bobby Huang cluster: A role: post status: published faq: - q: Is a paraphrase an exact quotation? a: "A paraphrase uses different wording. Read it against the earlier passage before treating it as what the person said, especially when your action depends on a condition or limit." - q: Can a short quotation leave something out? a: "Yes. Exact words taken from part of a sentence can omit a condition elsewhere in that sentence. Open the whole passage and read around the quoted part." - q: What can I ask when the handoff is unclear? a: "Ask for the exact earlier line, who said it, and which words in the handoff are the agent's own interpretation. Postpone the affected edit until you have that distinction in writing." related: - what-is-a-md-file --- A handoff says Jane Doe agreed to use a draft. Did she say those words, or did the agent restate a longer remark? That distinction matters when you are about to replace text on the strength of her agreement. All the handoff lines and people below are invented. Both Doe names are fictional placeholders. Read their words as an example of a decision you might face when an AI agent writes Markdown for you. ## Locate where the quotation begins and ends > Jane Doe said, "Use the shorter opening if the final paragraph stays." The quotation begins at "Use" and ends after "stays." The words outside those marks tell you who said it. That surrounding wording belongs to the handoff's account rather than Jane Doe's remark. Now read this handoff line: > Jane Doe agreed to the shorter opening and wanted the final paragraph kept. This is a paraphrase. It may be intended to restate the same remark, but it does not promise Jane Doe's exact wording. Before replacing the opening, open the earlier passage where her remark appears. Read the entire sentence, including the condition attached to using the shorter opening. Quotations and paraphrases can share a paragraph in a Markdown handoff whose file name ends in .md. The [.md file explanation](what-is-a-md-file.md) describes what that ending means. The ending itself does not tell you which words came from Jane Doe. ## Read the earlier passage against the restatement Suppose the earlier passage contains this line: > Jane Doe wrote, "Use the shorter opening if the final paragraph stays. I have not read the middle paragraphs." The handoff instead says: > Jane Doe agreed to the draft. Read the handoff against both sentences. "The shorter opening" has become "the draft." The condition about the final paragraph is absent. So is Jane Doe's statement that she has not read the middle paragraphs. Name those changes in your question to the agent: "Does 'agreed to the draft' restate only the opening remark? Give me Jane Doe's exact line before I replace any other text." This keeps the question tied to words you can read. You are not asking whether the agent feels certain about its account. You are asking whether Jane Doe's remark supports the action the handoff appears to permit. When the earlier passage and the handoff occupy separate files, keep their names distinct while discussing them. [Markdown file naming](markdown-file-naming.md) deals with those names; here, use the earlier passage's file name when asking for the exact line. ## Separate shortening from added interpretation > The handoff says Jane Doe called the opening "too long" and therefore wanted a new draft. Only "too long" is presented as exact wording. The claim about wanting a new draft sits outside the quotation. It may be the agent's interpretation of the remark. Open the earlier passage before treating that interpretation as an instruction from Jane Doe. If her full remark was "The opening is too long; keep the rest as it is," a new draft would go beyond what she said. Describe this gap in terms of the quoted phrase: "The quoted words concern length. The new-draft idea is added interpretation. What exact line says Jane Doe wanted the rest rewritten?" Shortening is a different gap. A handoff could quote "keep the rest" while leaving off "as it is." The retained words may all appear in the earlier sentence, yet the missing phrase still matters to what you do. Read beyond the quotation's stopping place before acting on a fragment. ## Keep each person's words apart > Jane Doe wanted the opening shorter. Alex Doe wrote, "Replace the whole draft." The handoff contains two people's remarks. Alex Doe's quoted instruction is not Jane Doe's agreement, and Jane Doe's preference about the opening does not extend Alex Doe's words to her. If a later handoff sentence says both people wanted the draft replaced, return to each earlier passage separately. Ask, "Which exact line from Jane Doe says to replace the whole draft? Which line belongs to Alex Doe?" Keep the answer attached to who said it within each sentence. For example, "Jane Doe asked for a shorter opening; Alex Doe asked for the whole draft to be replaced" preserves the separation. You still need to decide whose instruction governs your next edit, but you no longer have to treat their remarks as one shared statement. ## Pause where the boundary disappears A handoff can begin with a quotation and drift into an agent's restatement without telling you where the quoted words stop. Stop at that sentence. Ask for the earlier line with quotation marks around only the exact words, followed by the agent's interpretation in a separate sentence. Use ordinary prose for that exchange. Text can also appear in [Markdown code blocks](markdown-code-blocks.md), but that appearance alone would not establish whether its wording was exact. Once you have the earlier passage, read the quotation's beginning and ending against it. Name any shortened wording, omitted condition or added interpretation that affects your decision. Without the earlier line, that part of the handoff remains unsettled; postpone any edit resting on those words. ## Where Sashmark fits Sashmark is still in development. Its planned desktop use pairs reading with editing: your AI agents write Markdown, and you work with that text. AI has no place within the app itself. You decide whether a passage quotes someone exactly.