The five parts of a prompt
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Role: who the AI should be | You are a patient math tutor. |
| Goal: the job, in one sentence | Help my son, who is 10, understand fractions. |
| Context: what only you know | He loves pizza and gets frustrated fast. |
| Format: what the answer looks like | Three short steps, then 2 practice problems. |
| Tone: how it should sound | Upbeat and simple, like a fun coach. |
You rarely need all five. Goal and context do the most work. The full guide: how to write a great AI prompt.
10 power phrases
| Add this | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ask me up to 3 questions before you start. | Finds the gaps in your prompt |
| Use only the facts I gave you. | Stops made-up details |
| If you are not sure, say so. | Gets honest answers instead of guesses |
| Keep it under 100 words. | Sets a real length, not just "short" |
| Give me 3 versions: short, warm and formal. | Gives you choices to pick from |
| Put it in a table with a row for each option. | Makes things easy to compare |
| Explain it like I'm 12. | Plain words, no jargon |
| Here is an example I like. Match its style. | Copies a tone or a pattern |
| Write it for a busy reader on a phone. | Short lines, main point first |
| Show your steps so I can check them. | Makes mistakes easy to spot |
10 follow-ups that fix an answer
| If the answer is | Send this |
|---|---|
| Too long | Make it half as long. Keep the main points. |
| Too vague | Be more specific. Use real examples. |
| Too stiff | Rewrite it the way a real person talks. |
| The wrong tone | Make it warmer and more casual. |
| The wrong format | Turn this into a numbered checklist. |
| Hard to follow | Give me one real-life example that shows what you mean. |
| Close, but not quite | Give me 3 different versions. |
| Maybe wrong | Which parts are you least sure about? |
| Full of facts | List the facts I should double-check before I use this. |
| Off track | Go back to my first message and answer only that. |
More fixes, ready to copy: follow-up prompts that fix a bad answer.
Image prompt checklist
- Subject. Who or what, doing what.
- Setting. Where and when.
- Style. Photo, watercolor, 3D, cartoon or flat logo.
- Light and color. Soft morning light, warm golden tones, bright neon.
- Framing. Close-up, wide shot or from above.
- Mood. Calm, playful, cozy or dramatic.
- Shape. Square 1:1, tall 9:16 or wide 16:9.
- Words. Short, in quotes, and checked for spelling.
Video prompt checklist
- One shot. One subject, one action, start to finish.
- Camera move. Push in, pull back, pan, orbit or locked off.
- Setting and light. Where it happens and how it is lit.
- Look. Cinematic, documentary, animated or old film.
- Pace. Slow and calm, or fast and full of energy.
- Length and shape. Like "8 seconds, wide 16:9."
- People. Describe each person the same way in every clip.
Never paste these
- Passwords and login codes
- Bank, card and loan numbers
- Social Security, passport and license numbers
- Health records with a name on them
- Client, patient or customer details
- Other people's private messages and photos
- Work secrets you were asked to keep
Use a placeholder like [account number] instead, and fill in the real detail after you copy the answer. More in keep your private info safe. Stuck on a prompt? Paste it into the prompt fixer to see what is missing.
One more line from this page is often all a weak prompt needs. Add a role, a number or a format, then try again.