Writing a Good Prompt: The 5-Part Formula

The formula

1. 1

   Role

   Who should the AI act as? “You are an experienced HR manager…” sets vocabulary and standards.

2. 2

   Task

   What exactly should it do? Use a clear verb: write, summarise, compare, fix, plan, explain.

3. 3

   Context

   What does it need to know? Audience, background, your goal, and any source material.

4. 4

   Format

   What should the output look like? Bullet list, table, email, 150 words, step-by-step.

5. 5

   Constraints

   What to avoid or respect? Tone, reading level, words to avoid, facts it must not invent.

Before and after

Weak: "Write an email about the delay."

Strong: "You are a polite customer-support lead. Write an email to a customer whose order #4821 will arrive 5 days late because of a supplier problem. Apologise once, give the new date (12 March), and offer free shipping on their next order. Keep it under 120 words, warm but professional, no exclamation marks."

Give examples when style matters

If you want a specific style, show one or two examples. AI copies patterns extremely well, so an example often works better than a long description of the style you want.

Write 5 product descriptions in the same style as this example:

Example: "Cotton Tote — Carries a laptop, lunch and a bad day. 100% organic cotton, machine-washable."

Products: steel water bottle, desk lamp, notebook, phone stand, backpack.

Iterate instead of starting over

Treat the first answer as a draft. Reply with specific feedback: “shorter”, “more formal”, “use a table”, “the second point is wrong because…”. A few rounds of feedback usually beat writing a perfect prompt from scratch.