Crafting Clear Instructions › Practical Tips for Better Prompts

Based on these examples, here are some concrete strategies you can apply immediately:

Instead of asking for "a summary," ask for "a 3-sentence summary" or "a 150-word summary." This prevents responses that are too long or too short.

Adding "for beginners," "for experts," or "for middle school students" helps the model adjust its language and depth appropriately.

Want a list? Say "as a bulleted list." Want a table? Say "in a table with columns for X, Y, and Z." Want step-by-step instructions? Say "as numbered steps."

If you want a specific style or structure, show an example:

Generate three product taglines in this style:
- "Coffee that wakes up your day"
- "Brewed for those who dream big"
- "Your morning, perfected"

Now create three similar taglines for tea.

Tell the model what NOT to do: "without using technical jargon," "avoiding clichés," "don't include code examples."