A.15.10:4.3 - Reconstruct the working question and method

On return, recover why this work was undertaken and whether that purpose still applies. Read the relevant working material, including the operative part of the method when the summary or bookmark does not preserve it.

For an uncertain continuation, try stating:

We are trying to obtain this result. This is the question still open. These rules govern the next operation. This contribution is established; this other part has not yet been completed.

This can be an internal or spoken reconstruction. It is not a required written formula.

If you cannot recover a decisive relation, use its source rather than filling the gap with a plausible story. Reconstruct a small missing calculation or argument, ask for the unavailable contribution, or return to the last reliable point. B.5.RA helps recover an argument; B.5.RC helps reconstruct a construction. Repeating the whole task is justified only when the useful remainder cannot be recovered more cheaply.

A remembered intention, a selected next step and a performed operation remain different. When the completion of an important step is uncertain, inspect its result or repeat the smallest safe operation that settles the uncertainty. Do not repeat an irreversible action merely because its record is missing.