Prompting

Ask clearly, set constraints, iterate without guessing.

• Define the outcome
  5 min · State a checkable outcome before writing the rest of a prompt.
• Give useful context
  6 min · Supply audience, purpose, knowns and material that change the answer.
• Write clear instructions
  6 min · Turn vague or overloaded asks into single, checkable instructions.
• Add constraints
  5 min · Bound an answer with length, scope, must-keep and must-avoid constraints.
• Specify the format
  6 min · Request output in a named structure the next tool or reader can use.
• Examples and few-shot
  6 min · Teach a pattern with 2–3 examples instead of descriptive adjectives.
• Work with long input
  7 min · Process a long document with a chunked extraction process instead of one giant paste.
• Ground responses in your sources
  6 min · Make answers traceable to supplied text, and verify claims against it.
• Structured output (JSON, simply)
  6 min · Request output shaped for reuse — a named table, fixed fields or JSON — with no extra commentary.
• Iterate from the output
  6 min · Improve AI work with targeted follow-ups: point at the flaw, name the fix, protect what works.
• Evaluate before you ship
  7 min · Run a five-question rubric on any AI output before you act on it or pass it on.