Chatbots & Text Tools
Master the art of prompting for text generation
What You'll Learn
- ✓The Role + Task + Context + Examples formula for effective prompts
- ✓How to get AI to critique and improve its own outputs
- ✓Practical use cases: summarization, writing, brainstorming, and research
- ✓When to use different chatbot tools and their strengths
Key Ideas
Structure prompts for better results: (1) Give AI a role ('You are a teacher'), (2) State the task clearly, (3) Provide context ('for high school students'), (4) Show examples if needed, (5) Ask AI to critique and improve.
Examples:
- • Role: 'You are an experienced technical writer...'
- • Task: '...who needs to explain cloud computing...'
- • Context: '...to small business owners with no tech background'
- • Critique: 'Review your explanation and simplify any jargon'
AI excels at condensing long content. Use it for meeting notes, article summaries, or email threads. Specify the length, format, and audience for best results.
Examples:
- • Summarize this article in 3 bullet points for a busy executive
- • Extract the key action items from this meeting transcript
- • Condense this research paper into a 200-word summary for the general public
Use AI for first drafts, overcoming blank page syndrome, and editing. But keep your voice by starting with your rough ideas and having AI polish them rather than writing from scratch.
Examples:
- • Turn rough notes into a structured email
- • Generate 5 different subject line options
- • Improve this paragraph for clarity while keeping my casual tone
Suggested Resources
DeepLearning.AI
Coursera
Try This Now
Put your learning into practice with these hands-on exercises. Copy the prompts and try them in your favorite AI tool.
I'm going to paste an article. First, summarize it in 3 bullet points. Then, create a one-sentence summary. Finally, explain the main idea as if to a middle schooler. [Paste article]
[Paste your rough draft] You are an editor helping me refine this writing. First, identify 3 areas that need improvement. Then, suggest revisions for each area while maintaining my voice.
I need to [your task/problem]. Act as 3 different experts: a creative designer, a practical engineer, and a business strategist. Give me one idea from each perspective.
You are a career coach specializing in tech industries. Write a LinkedIn post about the importance of continuous learning. The audience is mid-career professionals worried about AI replacing their jobs. Tone: encouraging but realistic, 150 words max. After writing, critique your draft and identify one way to make it more impactful.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Which prompt formula elements made the biggest difference in your results?
- 2.What's one regular task where AI could save you 30+ minutes per week?
- 3.How can you use AI while keeping your authentic voice?