Field note
Invalidation Notes That Survive the Week
A wave count without a written invalidation level is a sketch, not an annotation ready for review.
Annotation clinics are not forecasting theatres. We teach students to write the price that kills the preferred count, in ink, beside the final label set. If that level prints, the count retires—no quiet erasing after the close.
Useful invalidation notes name the structural reason: wave 4 overlap into wave 1 territory, a truncated fifth that failed a prior extreme, or a zigzag that broke its connecting channel too early. Vague phrases such as “if it goes against me” do not belong on clinic sheets.
Keep invalidation on the same page as the count. Separate notebooks hide the rule when emotion rises. Our take-home packs leave a ruled margin specifically for this line.
If you submit charts for private tutoring, we ask for the invalidation line before we discuss any alternate count. It keeps the hour honest.