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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Library Guide

Writing effective prompts

To generate effective responses from AI, prompts should be clear, specific, and provide sufficient context. Refining the prompt may be necessary to achieve optimal results.

Principles of Effective Prompting:

  • Clarity: Use precise and straightforward language.
  • Focus: Define a clear objective or question.
  • Relevance: Ensure the prompt aligns with the topic at hand.
  • Context: Include relevant background information to guide the response.

Types of Generative AI Prompts

This taxonomy provides a structured overview of generative AI prompt types, drawing on categories identified by Grammarly (2023) and instructional approaches adapted from Mascellino (2023). Each prompt type is defined by its functional role and illustrated with an example, supporting the development of effective prompts across domains such as education, content creation, and human–AI interaction.

Prompt Type Description Example
Completion

Prompts that provide an unfinished sentence, phrase, or idea, requiring the model to generate a coherent continuation.
“Complete this sentence: Prompt engineering is…”
Question / Informational

Prompts that elicit factual, explanatory, or conceptual responses through direct questions. These may focus on definitions, descriptions, or clarifications.
“What are the key principles and techniques used in prompt engineering to optimize AI model outputs?”
Instructional

Prompts that include explicit directions, often in step-by-step format, guiding the model to perform a task or process.
“Write a step-by-step guide on effectively employing prompt engineering strategies when working with AI systems.”
Classification Prompts that require the AI to categorize information based on specified criteria or into predetermined classes. “Are the reviews of the Dune movie in major publications generally positive, negative, or mixed?”
Comparison Prompts that involve evaluating similarities and differences between two or more items, often with an emphasis on performance or suitability. “Compare the effectiveness of prompt engineering in enhancing AI model performance versus using unstructured prompts.”
Creative Prompts designed to elicit original, imaginative, or artistic content, such as stories, poems, advertisements, or speculative scenarios. “Imagine a future where prompt engineering has revolutionized artificial intelligence. Write a short story describing this transformation.”
Dialogue Prompts that request the generation of a conversation between two or more individuals, often to illustrate multiple perspectives or simulate discussion. “Generate a conversation between two AI researchers discussing the significance of prompt engineering in improving model transparency.”
Interactive / Role-play Prompts that simulate a contextual interaction or scenario, often requiring the AI to assume a specific role or persona. “Pretend you’re a hiring manager at a software company, and I am interviewing for a QA position. Conduct the interview.”
Summarization Prompts that ask the model to condense a larger body of text or information into a shorter, more concise summary while preserving the core ideas. “Summarize the benefits and challenges associated with prompt engineering in three concise points.”
Translation Prompts that involve converting text from one language into another while maintaining semantic accuracy and tone. “Translate the term ‘prompt engineering’ into French.”
Persona / Format-based Prompts that include meta-instructions about the AI’s role, intended audience, or desired output format, shaping the model’s tone, style, and structure. “You are a technical writer. Create a bullet-point guide explaining prompt engineering to non-specialist stakeholders.”

Bibliography

Grammarly. (2023, July 11). Generative AI prompts: What they are and how to use them. Grammarly. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ai/generative-ai-prompts/

Adapted from Mascellino, A. (2023, September 2). How to write AI prompts: ChatGPT, Bard, Bing & more [+examples]. Techopedia.  https://www.techopedia.com/how-to-write-ai-prompts

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