Practice round
Turn three weak prompts into strong ones, and practise the habits of a skilled chatbot user.
Let's put it all together, and practise writing great prompts. You've learned how chatbots work, how to write strong prompts, how to follow up, and how to check answers. Now let's practise, by turning three weak prompts into strong ones. Weak prompt one: help with maths. Help with what, exactly? Stronger: I'm in J S S one, and I find long division hard. Explain it step by step, with one example, using simple words. Weak prompt two: write a story. Stronger: write a funny story, under two hundred words, for children aged eight, about a girl in Lagos who finds a talking mango tree. Weak prompt three: just the letters, C V. Stronger: here is my CV, with my phone number and address removed. I'm applying to be a shop assistant. Suggest three ways to make my skills section stronger, without adding anything untrue. Notice that the C V prompt removed the phone number and address. Before you paste anything into a chatbot, take out private details. The A I doesn't need them to help you.
Quick check
Quick check. What's missing from this prompt: explain volcanoes as a list of five points? Who it's for, or the level. Adding, for a ten year old, would make the answer just right. Options: Who it's for, or the level; The task; The format; The size.
Recap
Remember the five parts, task, context, audience, format and size. Remove private details before you paste. Follow up, and check the answer. And practise until it feels natural.
Key points
- Strong prompts include a task, context, an audience or level, a format and a size.
- Example: "I'm in JSS1 and find long division hard. Explain it step by step with one example, in simple words."
- Remove private details, like phone numbers, addresses and ID numbers, before pasting anything into a chatbot.
- After the answer, follow up to improve it, and check anything important.
Try it: Improve three weak prompts
Your Unit 3 project: make each weak prompt strong. Start with this one, then try "write a story" and "cv" too.