def check_request(request):
    """
        Validates that our request is well formatted
        
        Returns:
        - assertion value: True if request is ok, False otherwise
        - error message: empty if request is ok, False otherwise
    """
    
    if "id" not in request:
        error = "Field `id` missing from request: {}".format(request)
        return False, error
    
    if "observation" not in request:
        error = "Field `observation` missing from request: {}".format(request)
        return False, error
    
    return True, ""