Writing Prompts for AI: Four Things to Include So You Don’t Have to Keep Asking Again

Writing AI prompts well from the start saves you from asking the same thing again and again. Type “write a leave request email” into ChatGPT and you get a formal letter that reads like a government notice and is three times too long. You edit, ask again, edit some more. Ten minutes for something that would have taken five to write yourself.

The problem is not the tool. The AI does not know who you are, who you are writing to or what you want. If you do not say, it guesses, and it usually guesses the safest, most generic option.

Four things to put in a prompt

1. The task. Write something new, summarize, fix mistakes, compare, or outline? Use one clear verb.

2. Background. Who will read it, what it is for, what situation you are in. This is the part people skip most, and the part that makes the biggest difference.

3. Specific requirements. Length, tone, things to avoid. “Under 100 words”, “friendly tone”, “no jargon.”

4. Output format. Do you want a table, a bullet list, or a few paragraphs?

Before and after

Short prompt: “Write a leave request email.”

Complete prompt: “Write an email to my manager asking for leave next Thursday and Friday to attend my cousin’s wedding in my hometown. My current tasks have been handed over to Minh. Polite but not too formal, under 80 words. Just the email body, no subject line.”

The second one takes thirty seconds longer to type, but usually needs only a few words changed before you can send it. Writing AI prompts with these four things gets you much closer to what you want. Writing AI prompts is a lot like briefing a new colleague. Save your best prompts so writing AI prompts gets faster over time.

A few more tips

• Give an example. If you have a paragraph you like, paste it in and say “write in this style.”
• Fix one part at a time. If the result is close, point to what needs changing, like “make the second paragraph half as long,” instead of asking for a full rewrite.
• Let it ask questions. Add “if anything is missing, ask me before writing.”
• Still check the facts. A good prompt improves the writing. It does not guarantee the facts are right. Numbers, names and dates still need checking.

Next time, try writing AI prompts with all four pieces. Learn more about prompt engineering, or read our guide on AI document summaries.