Prompting Basics – From Vague Requests to Usable Results
Lesson 4: Build Your Personal Prompt Starter Kit
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
- Turn a prompt that worked into a reusable template.
- Use [brackets] for the details that change each time.
- Organize three to five templates for their most common tasks.
Lesson Content
A prompt template is a prompt you can reuse by changing only a few details. Instead of starting from a blank box every time, you fill in the blanks. Templates save time and give more consistent results.
How to build one:
- Start from a prompt that already gave you a good result.
- Replace the details that change with [brackets]: [reader], [topic], [facts], [length].
- Keep the parts that never change: your tone, your rules, and your format.
- Give the template a clear name, like "Customer reply" or "Study explainer."
- Store your templates in one place, such as a notes app or a document.
Example template:
Write a [tone] message to [reader] about [topic]. Facts: [facts]. Keep it under [length] words. Do not add prices, promises, or facts I did not list. End with [call to action].
Many AI tools also let you save instructions they use every time (often called custom instructions or saved preferences). Check your tool's settings; your templates still work in any tool.
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