1 min lesson
Score yourself across four dimensions
Compare two rows from "Score yourself across four dimensions", then say when each one fits.
Step 1 of 2
Score yourself across four dimensions
- Dimension
- Correctness
- Pass looks like
- Handles the offset/overlap case, not just the happy path
- Red flag
- Works on the example, breaks on adjacent or overlapping edits
- Dimension
- Clarity
- Pass looks like
- Small named functions, obvious data flow, no clever one-liners
- Red flag
- One dense block you'd struggle to explain mid-interview
- Dimension
- Edge cases
- Pass looks like
- Empty input, single edit, end-of-buffer, overlap all considered
- Red flag
- Only the demo input ever runs
- Dimension
- Communication
- Pass looks like
- Narrated approach, complexity and tradeoffs out loud
- Red flag
- Silent heads-down typing until it compiles
| Dimension | Pass looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Correctness | Handles the offset/overlap case, not just the happy path | Works on the example, breaks on adjacent or overlapping edits |
| Clarity | Small named functions, obvious data flow, no clever one-liners | One dense block you'd struggle to explain mid-interview |
| Edge cases | Empty input, single edit, end-of-buffer, overlap all considered | Only the demo input ever runs |
| Communication | Narrated approach, complexity and tradeoffs out loud | Silent heads-down typing until it compiles |
Record the no-AI run and grade from the tape. Silence is the most common quiet failure.
When you redo the variant with AI on, the grade flips from can you write it to can you vet it. Catch the model out loud: “It's merging overlapping edits silently - that's a data-loss bug, I'm making it throw instead.” In the no-AI screen, the equivalent move is naming the edge case before the interviewer does.
Write the test you'd be embarrassed to skip: two adjacent edits, two overlapping edits, an edit at the very end of the buffer. “How do you know it works” follows you through every round of this loop, so practice answering it with a test, not a shrug.