Good vs Bad Prompts
The fastest way to learn prompting is to see it. Each card takes a weak, everyday prompt and rewrites it into one that works, with exactly what changed and why.
write a homepage
Write the hero section for a meal-prep startup’s homepage, aimed at busy professionals. Goal: start a free trial. Confident, warm tone. ~80 words: a headline, a one-sentence subhead, and a CTA button label.
- Named the audience (busy professionals)
- Stated the goal (start a free trial)
- Set tone and length
- Specified the exact structure
fix my code
This Python function throws a KeyError on line 12 when the input dict has no "price" key. Explain the cause, then give a corrected version that defaults a missing price to 0. Keep my variable names.
- Described the actual bug and symptom
- Said what fix you want
- Added a constraint (keep names)
- Asked for cause + correction, not just code
tell me about electric cars
Summarize the 3 biggest factors in electric-car total cost of ownership vs gas, for a first-time US buyer in 2025. Bullet points, one sentence each. Note where figures vary by state.
- Scoped a vague topic to a real question
- Set the audience and context
- Fixed the format
- Asked it to flag uncertainty honestly
analyze this data
Here is monthly revenue for 2024 [paste]. Identify the 2 months with the biggest swings, suggest one plausible cause for each, and flag any figure that looks suspect. Answer in 3 short bullets.
- Provided the actual data
- Asked specific questions
- Capped the output length
- Invited it to question the data
write an email
Write a 4-sentence follow-up email to a client who hasn’t replied in a week about an overdue invoice. Polite but firm. End with a clear next step.
- Set length and recipient
- Gave the situation
- Set the tone precisely
- Required a specific ending
summarize this
Summarize the article below for someone who hasn’t read it: 3 bullets covering the main claim, the key evidence, and the takeaway. Avoid jargon.
- Named the reader
- Defined each bullet’s job
- Set the exact structure
- Added a constraint (no jargon)
give me ideas
Give me 8 name ideas for a cozy neighborhood coffee shop, mixing warm and slightly unexpected words. Avoid anything with "bean" or "brew". One line each, no explanations.
- Set a count (8)
- Described the vibe
- Added an exclusion list
- Fixed the output format
explain quantum computing
Explain what a qubit is to a curious 15-year-old, using one everyday analogy, in under 120 words. No math.
- Pinned the audience and level
- Required a concrete analogy
- Capped the length
- Set a hard constraint (no math)
Learn the pattern, not the prompt
You don’t need a library of a thousand templates. Look across these rewrites and the same moves repeat every time: name the audience, state the goal, set the tone and length, fix the format, and add a constraint or two. Once you see the pattern, you can apply it to any prompt, on any topic, forever. That’s why examples beat templates: they teach the move, not the words.
Every “strong” prompt here just answers the questions the weak one left blank. See those blanks live in the Prompt Simulator, or fill them in with the Prompt Builder.
FAQ
Why not just give me templates to copy?
Templates break the moment your task is slightly different. The five moves shown here transfer to anything, which is what actually makes you better at prompting.
Are the “strong” prompts the only right answer?
No, there are many good versions. They’re examples of the pattern: specific audience, goal, tone, length, format, and constraints. Adapt freely.
Related
Diagnose a vague prompt in the Prompt Simulator, build a strong one with the Prompt Builder, or take the Learn Prompting course.