Guide

Turn a vague request into a clear AI task

Write your request in four parts: goal, material, output and limits. Practise with fictional team notes, edit the result and copy a request you can check.

Follow the steps

Watch the walkthrough or read its transcript

About 75 seconds, with on-screen explanations and no audio. Prepare a clear request, review it and copy it; this exercise does not send it to an AI.

Use full screen for small details. Every instruction is also in the transcript.

Return to the exercise

Read the video transcript
  1. Start with one result you can check. “Help me organise this” leaves the reader, source and output unclear.

  2. Load the fictional notes. The purpose asks for a short team update, not a report on everything.

  3. Read the source: testing is finished, but release approval is still pending. Keep both facts.

  4. Name the reader. Here, we change the purpose to help teammates who missed the review.

  5. Choose three bullets: completed work, the open decision, and the next action with its owner.

  6. Set the limit: do not turn a finished test into a released feature. Missing facts stay unknown.

  7. Read the assembled request. This page joins your four parts; it has not sent them to an AI.

  8. Check the purpose, source, format and limits yourself. These ticks record your review, not an automatic fact check.

  9. Copy your request before leaving. Choose a related Task when it fits; the page does not transfer or save your draft.

This exercise runs in this page. It does not call an AI or upload your text. Edits are lost when you leave or reload; copy your work before leaving. Use fictional material, not sensitive information.

Step 1 of 3

Spot what the request leaves unsaid

Start with one result and one audience. Compare “help me organise this” with a team update that keeps completed testing separate from a pending release. The exercise is about choosing a useful task, not finding a magic phrase.

Fictional teaching example

A request with too much left unsaid

Help me organise this.

Organise for whom, using which notes, and into what result? A long answer can still miss your purpose. Naming these choices is more useful than adding “be professional”.

Make one useful change

Ask for a short team update from supplied notes, with completed work, an open decision and the next action. Keep a pending release separate from completed testing.

Read all steps
  1. Spot what the request leaves unsaid

    Start with one result and one audience. Compare “help me organise this” with a team update that keeps completed testing separate from a pending release. The exercise is about choosing a useful task, not finding a magic phrase.

  2. Write the four parts

    Use the fictional example or write a short practice request. State the result you need, paste the relevant source, name an output format and describe what must stay uncertain. The page joins your words; it does not add facts or call a model.

  3. Inspect and copy your request

    Read the assembled request as if you were receiving it. Can you identify the source and check the requested result? Correct conflicts between the purpose and limits before copying. A clear prompt helps define work; it does not guarantee that an AI answer will be true.

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Authored fictional teaching exercise, reviewed on 6 September 2026. No model is called and no draft text is saved or uploaded. Checkmarks record the learner’s review, not measured accuracy or real-user success.

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