Asking questions the right way
Day 31 of 149
👉 Full deep-dive with code examples
The Restaurant Order Analogy
Ordering food:
- "Give me something good" → Who knows what you'll get
- "I'd like a medium-rare ribeye steak with roasted vegetables" → Exactly what you want
Prompt Engineering is crafting a clear "order" for AI.
Clearer instructions often lead to better responses.
Why It Matters
Same AI, different prompts, different results:
- Vague prompt → Vague or wrong answer
- Clear prompt → Useful, accurate response
AI does what you ask—so ask precisely!
Key Techniques
Be specific:
- Bad: "Write about dogs"
- Good: "Write a 200-word article about why Golden Retrievers make great family pets"
Give context:
- "You are a marketing expert. Help me..."
- "Given this background: [info]. Now answer..."
Provide examples:
- "Format like this: Q: ... A: ..."
- Shows AI what you want
Set constraints:
- "In 3 bullet points"
- "Without using jargon"
- "For a 5-year-old"
Common Patterns
Role-playing:
- "Act as a senior developer reviewing this code"
Step-by-step:
- "Think through this step by step"
- AI reasons more carefully
Few-shot examples:
- Show 2-3 examples of desired output
- AI mimics the pattern
Tips
- Iterate! The first try often needs tweaks
- Be specific about format
- The more context, usually the better
- Test different approaches
In One Sentence
Prompt Engineering is the skill of writing clear, specific instructions to get more useful responses from AI systems.
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