Prompt writing
Write a reusable prompt when a business task needs clear inputs, output expectations and proportionate handling of uncertainty.
Inputs and scope
Use target user, task, context, supplied inputs, output audience, quality criteria and examples of failures. Use the available evidence and identify material gaps. Do not present unverified information as independently checked.
If a missing fact changes the decision, ask a focused question and complete the parts that do not depend on it. Otherwise proceed with an explicit, reversible assumption. Do not invent evidence to fill gaps. Keep supplied dates, units, source labels and disagreement wherever they affect interpretation.
Method
- Define the task boundary and useful outcome. Do not turn the prompt into a wider workflow than the user requested.
- Specify the input slots and explain how missing or contradictory information should affect the response. Ask only questions that materially change the work.
- Write instructions in a sequence matching the task’s real dependencies. Distinguish required constraints from optional techniques.
- Define a usable output shape with examples where they clarify difficult judgments. Require factual claims to remain grounded in supplied evidence.
- Add representative normal and near-miss cases for later evaluation. Refine based on observable output failures, not claims that a wording style is universally superior.
Deliver
Return copy-ready prompt text, brief input guide and proposed evaluation cases. Match detail to the user's decision and requested length. Clearly distinguish supplied facts, reasoned interpretations and proposed actions; do not turn an illustrative calculation or scenario into an observed result.
Quality checks
- Prompt is self-contained and does not assume hidden references.
- No requirement to reveal private chain-of-thought.
- Testing status is explicit and not inferred from a drafted example.
Edge-case guidance
When providing evaluation examples for a new prompt, state explicitly whether they were executed. Drafted cases are “authored, not executed” until a real run occurs.
Example
Example request: Write a prompt that turns meeting notes into decisions, action owners and unresolved questions. Notes often contain suggestions that were never agreed.
What a good response should do: Include explicit separation of proposals and decisions, owner uncertainty, source snippets and no invented deadlines; define the output in a compact table.