Most advice about prompting focuses on clever tricks, but a handful of boring structural habits do more for output quality than any single magic phrase.<\/p>\r\n
First, state the audience explicitly. “Explain database indexing” and “explain database indexing to a junior developer who has never used SQL” produce meaningfully different answers.<\/p>\r\n
Second, specify format before content. Asking for “a comparison table” up front changes how the model organizes its reasoning, not just how it formats the final answer.<\/p>\r\n
Third, give one worked example when the task is unusual. A single example often does more work than three paragraphs of instructions.<\/p>\r\n
Fourth, separate constraints from content. Put word limits, tone, and formatting rules in their own line rather than burying them mid-paragraph.<\/p>\r\n
Fifth, ask for a self-check. Appending “then review your answer for accuracy before finalizing” costs almost nothing and catches a surprising number of errors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n