Other Artificial Intelligence (AI), Prompting
Learn practical techniques for writing clearer, more effective AI prompts by defining your goals, giving examples, setting boundaries, specifying the level of detail, and providing relevant context.
Be specific about what you want
Give examples if possible
State what you don't want
Specify length/depth
Mention your skill level with the topic
Good prompt vs. better prompt
Good
"Summarize this paper."
Better
"Summarize this paper for a first-year graduate student in linguistics. 5 bullet points, plain language, and flag one open question the authors leave unresolved."
Prompt Template
Template:
Help me [TASK] using the following context: [CONTEXT]. Follow these requirements: [REQUIREMENTS]. Present the response as [OUTPUT FORMAT] for [AUDIENCE], using a [TONE] tone.
Example:
Help me write a maintenance announcement using the details below. The message is for UCSB staff who may be affected by a planned service interruption. Mention that the service will be unavailable Friday from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. and direct urgent questions to the support team. Present the response as an email with a subject line, using a clear and professional tone.