Prompting Strategies and Iterations
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What you will learn
- 1Tell a vague prompt apart from a specific prompt
- 2Name the five CRAFT parts: context, role, action, format, and tone
- 3Spot the constraints that turn a vague prompt into a focused one
- 4Iterate on a reply by reading, refining, and retrying the prompt
Mini Lesson
A prompt is the message you type to an AI assistant, always with a grown-up beside you. A vague prompt gets a vague reply, a specific prompt gets a focused reply, and a refined prompt — sharpened in two or three rounds — gets a reply you can actually use. Smart prompting is a skill: you plan your prompt, read the reply, and iterate until the answer matches what you need.
Vague vs Specific Prompts
A vague prompt leaves out the level, the topic, the length, or the format. The AI has to guess, and the reply is generic. A specific prompt names the audience, the exact task, the rules, and the shape of the answer — so the reply is targeted from the very first try.
- Vague: "tell me about animals". Specific: "list five facts about emperor penguins for Grade 6, in short bullets".
- Vague: "help with my essay". Specific: "suggest three stronger opening sentences for my Grade 6 essay on saving water".
- Vague: "make a quiz". Specific: "write four multiple-choice questions on adding fractions, with answers and a brief explanation for each".
CRAFT — A Five-Part Prompt Formula
- Context — your grade level, subject, and what you already know.
- Role — who the AI should pretend to be (a science tutor, a story editor, a coding coach).
- Action — the exact task: explain, list, summarize, draft, quiz, translate, compare.
- Format — bullets, paragraph, table, step-by-step, or a 100-word draft.
- Tone — friendly, formal, simple, or encouraging — and any constraint such as a word limit.
Iterate — Try, Read, Refine, Retry
You rarely get the perfect answer on the first try. Read the reply carefully, ask what is missing, then refine and retry. Add a missing constraint, change the format, swap a vague verb for a sharp one, or paste an example of the style you want. Two or three quick refinements usually beat a single long prompt.
- Too long? Add: "rewrite in 80 words or fewer".
- Too generic? Add: "use Grade 6 vocabulary and one example from real life".
- Wrong format? Add: "answer as a numbered list, not a paragraph".
- Missing the point? Paste the part you liked and ask: "continue in the same style".
- Too sure? Add: "flag any fact you are not certain about and suggest where to verify it".
Words to know
prompt
The message you type to tell an AI assistant what you want.
context
Background details — grade level, subject, and what you already know.
role
The character or expert you ask the AI to pretend to be.
action
The exact verb of the task: explain, list, draft, summarize, quiz.
format
The shape of the answer — bullets, paragraph, table, or step-by-step.
tone
How the reply should sound — friendly, formal, simple, encouraging.
iterate
To repeat the loop of trying, reading, refining, and retrying.
refine
To improve a prompt by adding, swapping, or removing details.
specific
Naming exactly what you want — audience, task, length, and rules.
constraint
A rule you give the AI, such as a word limit or a required format.
Tip: before you press send, read your prompt back as if you were the AI. If you cannot tell who the audience is, what the task is, or what shape the answer should take, add one constraint and try again.
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