How to write a good prompt: 10 patterns that work

When an AI answer is useless, the temptation is to blame the model. Usually the reason is simpler: the question was three words long.

A good prompt has four parts#

Context. Who you are, what this is for, who will read it. Role. Whose perspective the model should answer from. Task. Exactly what to do. Form. How long, what format, what tone.

Leave out context and you get a generic answer. Leave out form and you get three pages when you wanted three sentences.

Bad and good#

Bad: "Write a post about our new service."

Good: "You are a marketer at a small company. Write a LinkedIn post about our new bookkeeping service for small businesses. The audience is owners of 1–10 person companies currently doing their own books. 120 words, no emoji, in the tone you would use with a colleague. End on a question."

The second gives you something to edit. The first gives you something to ask again.

Ten patterns that work#

1. Give examples. "Here are three past quotes. Write a fourth in the same style." Two or three examples change the output more than any other technique.
2. Say what NOT to do. "Do not use the words 'innovative' or 'solution'."
3. Ask for several versions. "Give me three, in different tones." Choosing is faster than fixing.
4. Let it ask first. "Before writing, ask me three clarifying questions."
5. Give an acceptance criterion. "It has to fit on one page and be understandable to somebody outside the field."
6. Ask for step-by-step reasoning. On complex tasks this measurably improves the result.
7. Set a role. "You are an experienced lawyer explaining a contract to a client."
8. Specify the format. "Answer as a table: risk, likelihood, what to do."
9. Ask for criticism. "What are the three weakest parts of this text?" Often more useful than another draft.
10. Repeat the most important thing at the end. In a long prompt, a requirement buried in the middle quietly disappears.

Three common mistakes#

Too short a question. The most frequent, and the easiest to fix.

Assuming it remembers. The model sees only what is in the context window. In a long conversation, restate what matters.

Accepting the first answer. "Make it shorter", "be more specific", "remove the clichés" — the second and third pass usually produce what you actually wanted.

Where this goes#

Prompting is not a special skill. It is the same skill as writing a clear brief for a person — just less forgiving.