How to write better AI prompts: a beginner's guide

Most weak AI answers come from weak requests. You don't need special tricks — just four habits that make your request easy to answer well.

Step by step

1. Give context. Say who you are, who the output is for, and what the situation is. Two sentences of context change the whole answer.
2. State the outcome. Describe what a good result looks like and what you'll do with it. 'A reply that gets the invoice paid this week' beats 'write an email'.
3. Show an example. Paste something you like and ask it to follow that style. Examples beat adjectives.
4. Ask for a format. Say whether you want a list, a table, three options, or under 100 words. It saves a round of edits.
5. Iterate in the same chat. Say what to change instead of starting over: 'shorter', 'more direct', 'remove the second paragraph'.

Common mistakes

• Writing a one-line request and expecting a perfect answer.
• Starting a new chat for every small tweak.
• Accepting the first answer without checking facts.

Questions people ask

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