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AI Essentials: Prompt Writing

This guide provides resources for the use of Generative AI as a professor and a student.

What is a prompt?

A prompt is simply the input you give to an AI model—like a question, an instruction, or a command.

  • A conversation starter.
  • Tells the AI what you want it to do.

The quality of the prompt directly determines the quality of the response.

 

Prompt Writing

Helpful Tips

 

  • Tell AI to ask you a specified amount of questions one at a time.
    • Example: Ask me 20 questions, one at a time.
  • Tell AI not to give you the answers. 
    • Example: Do not give me the answers.
       
  • Tell AI to not give you examples (Sometimes AI will give you answers in the form of an example).
    • Example: Do not give me examples unless I ask for them.

       

Articles on Effective Prompt Writing

Ingredients of an Effective Prompt

 

  1. Assign AI a role.
  2. Give AI a task.
  3. Tell AI how you want the response structured.
  4. Give feedback.

 

An example of a prompt:

1. Assign AI a role: Act as if you are a tutor for Hawaiian Studies.

2. Define your task: Help me to study for my exam on Origins, Navigation, Traditional Hawaiian Life and Metaphors by using my class notes.

3. Tell the AI Chatbot how you want your answer structured: Format the questions into multiple choice. Ask them one at a time

The Full Prompt: Act as if you are a tutor for Hawaiian Studies. Help me to study for my exam on Origins, Navigation, Traditional Hawaiian Life and Metaphors by using my class notes. Format the questions into multiple choice. Ask them one at a time

4. Give the AI Chatbot feedback (after initial response): Give me more questions on navigation.

 

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