Giving Clear Instructions

You learn how to build a prompt without a rigid recipe: result, context, output, boundaries, and checks.

After this chapterAfter this chapter, you will be able to turn a vague question into an instruction that gives a useful and verifiable result.

Your progress0 of 48 lessons

2.1

A prompt is a task handover

Write as if you are handing over a task to a capable new employee.

A prompt can be a question, instruction, or goal. Do not think about code or secret commands. Explain what you need and why relevant details matter.

A good handover makes clear what needs to be finished. A role can be useful for perspective or tone, but does not automatically make ChatGPT an expert. Use a role only when it truly changes the outcome.

Result first
Only relevant background
Role is optional
No magical words needed

How you can use this

Work: ask for a meeting update for colleagues, not just a summary. Study: ask for an explanation at your current level.

Try this prompt

Turn this task into a clear assignment: [task]. Start with the desired end result and only add context that changes the quality.

Your practical exercise

Take a vague task you used before and rewrite it with a concrete end result.

Source for this lesson

OpenAI — Prompting
Goal, context, format, and boundaries; no fixed formula is required.
Checked: 2026-09-07

2.2

Goal and success criteria

Don't just say what ChatGPT should do, but also when the result is useful.

The goal describes the change you want to achieve. Success criteria make that goal testable. 'Write an email' is a task; 'write an email with which the recipient can confirm the appointment' also includes the desired effect.

Use one or two criteria that are really important, such as target audience, length, decision point, or required information. Too many requirements can contradict each other.

Describe the intended effect
Make important quality requirements testable
Limit the number of criteria
Check against the criteria

How you can use this

Personal use: a plan must be achievable within two hours. Entrepreneurship: an initial description of an offer must make its intended audience clear.

Try this prompt

Goal: [effect]. Create [result]. It is useful if: 1) [criterion], 2) [criterion]. Check your final version against both criteria.

Your practical exercise

Write two testable criteria for a small task. No task of your own? Use a fictional invitation: Sunday at 10:00, meeting point still unknown. Criteria: the time is correct; no location is invented. You are finished when you can point out whether an answer meets each criterion.

2.3

Relevant context

Context is information that is likely to improve the answer you receive.

More context is not automatically better. Add target audience, situation, existing choice, or source when that information changes the outcome. Leave out sensitive details if a fictional or general description suffices.

Separate facts from assumptions. For example, write 'Facts: ...' and 'Still uncertain: ...'. This reduces the chance that a working hypothesis ends up as truth in the answer.

Context must have an effect
Facts and assumptions separately
No unnecessary personal data
Name source material

How you can use this

Study: state your learning goal and prior knowledge. Work: state what has been decided and what is still open. Entrepreneurship: distinguish actual customer feedback from your own assumptions.

Try this prompt

Context:
- Facts: [facts]
- Still uncertain: [assumptions]
- Target group: [target group]
Assignment: [task]. Mark where missing context limits the answer.

Your practical exercise

Give the same task once without and once with three relevant context points. Compare exactly what improved.

2.4

Desired output

Ask for a format that fits what you will do with the answer afterwards.

An answer for a meeting looks different from a message to a friend. Specify format, length, and level of detail when this prevents unnecessary editing. For example, ask for a table to compare options, bullet points for actions, or a short text to send.

Avoid artificial limitations. A maximum of four sentences is only useful if four sentences are sufficient. Also say which elements should be retained.

Choose format based on use
Provide a realistic length
Name mandatory components
Request a verifiable format

How you can use this

Work: a table with action, owner, and date. Personal use: a shopping list grouped by store department. Study: questions first, answers separately.

Try this prompt

Create the result as [form]. Length: [limit]. Be sure to include: [elements]. Leave out: [elements]. Audience: [audience].

Your practical exercise

Convert an existing answer into two formats and choose the one that helps you take the next step faster.

2.5

Boundaries and missing information

Good boundaries prevent real mistakes; they do not check every word.

A boundary says what may not be changed, invented, or carried out. Examples: preserve approved amounts, use only provided sources, or create a draft but send nothing.

Ask ChatGPT to mark missing information or to first ask targeted questions. That is more reliable than hoping the model itself knows when guessing is dangerous.

Protect critical facts
Don't guess silently
Ask questions first if essential context is missing
Keep proposed external actions at the draft stage

How you can use this

Entrepreneurship: preserve prices and delivery dates exactly. Personal use: do not change any medical dosage. Work: do not send a message without review.

Try this prompt

Boundaries: keep [critical data] exact. Use only [sources]. If core information is missing, first ask up to three questions. Provide a draft; execute nothing externally.

Your practical exercise

Add two limits to an important prompt and explain which risk each limit prevents.

2.6

A complete but short prompt

Combine only the building blocks that your task needs.

A complete prompt does not need to be long. Start with the result and add context, output, and limit where they help. Use follow-up questions to refine.

Check before sending: does an outsider understand the task, is it clear what is good, and does ChatGPT know what it may not assume? If the answer is yes, the prompt is probably sufficient.

Goal
Relevant context
Useful output
Important limit
Check afterwards

How you can use this

A short, complete prompt can be six lines. A long prompt without a clear outcome can still be vague.

Try this prompt

Create [result] for [target audience]. Context: [context]. Deliver as [format] with [criteria]. Retain [critical data]. Highlight missing information and check your final version against the criteria.

Your practical exercise

Use the template for a small task, or for a fictional invitation: Saturday at 15:00, room B, ask who is coming, no reply deadline agreed. Check all given arrangements and afterwards identify which prompt component made the biggest difference. Other wording is fine if it adds or distorts nothing.

Worked example

From a vague learning question to a useful prompt

Fictional practice material; incorrect answers have been created deliberately for this exercise.

A fictional study exercise. Your source contains this agreed practice definition: “A fact can be checked; an opinion expresses a judgement.”

Input

Help me with facts and opinions.

First practice answer

Facts and opinions are everywhere. Here is a detailed explanation with ten concepts. This deliberately imperfect example provides plenty of text but no focused exercise yet.

Check

Your goal is to learn to distinguish them yourself, not to collect more text. Follow-up instruction: use only the practice definition provided. Explain it in two sentences and ask one practice question. Then wait for my answer.

Improved version

You can check a fact. An opinion says how someone judges something. Practice question: “This backpack is the most beautiful.” According to the practice definition, is this a fact or an opinion? Give your reason too. The answer is not shown yet.

Try it yourself

Write your own prompt to practise the difference between a question and an instruction. First provide your own short practice definitions.

View the model answer

A suitable prompt includes the two practice definitions, your starting level, one question at a time, and feedback only after your answer. Check whether the AI actually follows that agreed sequence.

Chapter assignment

Bring everything together

Build your own prompt with goal, context, output, and a relevant boundary. Keep both the first and improved version.

My notes

Maximum 10,000 characters per note.

Progress and notes are stored only in this browser on this device. Do not enter sensitive data. Download your notes regularly. This course sets no automatic expiry date. You can delete the data through your browser’s site-data settings; export anything you wish to keep first. Browser settings or cleanup may erase it earlier. These local notes are not sent to Finaudax.