Background: Skill-and outcome-based learning is always an advancement in medical education, One crucial aspect of this approach is the development of critical appraisal skills. This study compared student performance and perceptions when using a conventional comprehensive checklist versus a newly validated, concise checklist for critically appraising Drug Promotional Literature (DPL), in accordance with current national (Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices, India 2024) and international (WHO ethical criteria) guidelines. Methods: a prospective, randomised crossover study conducted among 82 second-year MBBS students in two sessions. In the first session, students were introduced to both methods: the Old Method involved a printed 23-item checklist with binary responses and inferences, while the New Method required manual recording of an 18-item checklist prior to analysis. Scores were assigned based on their performance. In the second session, participant perceptions were gathered through a semi-open-ended questionnaire. Results: The Old Method yielded scores ranging from 6.9 to 10 with a mean of 8.8, whereas the New Method resulted in scores ranging from 7.1 to 10 with a mean of 9.1, demonstrating significantly improved performance. Additionally, 98.8% of participants preferred the New Method, with 74.4% commending its comprehensive approach, 60.9% appreciating its alignment with both WHO guidelines and the Indian context, 59.7% valuing its updated references, and 53.6% noting its ease of use despite the manual note-taking requirement. Conclusion: The updated, concise checklist resulted in a significant enhancement in student performance and the feedback received from the participants was exceptionally favourable. This structured, skill-based approach shows promising potential to improve critical appraisal skills and overall learning outcomes in medical education.