Lesson 10: Putting It All Together
You Made It. Now Let’s Make It Stick.
Remember when you first opened an AI chat interface and thought, “Okay… what do I even say to this thing?” Look how far you’ve come. Over nine lessons, you’ve built a complete toolkit:- Lesson 1: The conversation mindset
- Lesson 2: How AI actually works (prediction, tokens, context windows)
- Lesson 3: Task-Context-Format framework
- Lesson 4: The four types of context
- Lesson 5: Few-shot examples
- Lesson 6: Role assignment
- Lesson 7: Chain of thought reasoning
- Lesson 8: Effective iteration
- Lesson 9: Troubleshooting and diagnosis
The Prompt Engineering Checklist
Before we dive into real-world examples, let’s crystallize everything into a simple checklist. Think of this as your pre-flight routine before launching any important prompt.Your 5-Point Prompt Check
1. What’s the task? Be crystal clear about what you’re asking for. “Help me with this email” is fuzzy. “Write a professional but warm email declining a meeting request” is precise. 2. What context does the AI need? Remember: AI can’t read your mind. Ask yourself, “If I were explaining this to a smart new colleague, what background would they need?” Include the audience, purpose, constraints, and any relevant details. 3. Would an example help? For anything involving a specific style, format, or tone, showing is often better than telling. Even one good example can dramatically improve results. 4. Should I assign a role? Sometimes the fastest path to a great response is telling the AI who to “be.” Need critical feedback? Ask for a devil’s advocate. Want something explained simply? Ask for a patient teacher. 5. Is this complex enough to need step-by-step thinking? For anything involving analysis, reasoning, or multiple considerations, ask the AI to think through it step by step. This single technique prevents more errors than almost anything else.The Quick Version
For everyday prompts, you can boil this down to three questions:- What do I want? (Task)
- Why and for whom? (Context)
- How should it look? (Format/Examples)
Building Prompts for Real-World Tasks
Theory is great, but let’s get practical. Here’s how to apply everything you’ve learned to the tasks you probably face regularly.Writing Emails
The common mistake:“Write an email to my boss about the project delay.”The prompt engineer’s approach:
“I need to email my boss about a two-week delay on our product launch. The delay is due to unexpected technical issues with our payment system (not anyone’s fault, just complex problems that surfaced during testing). My boss values directness and solutions over excuses. Write a professional email that acknowledges the delay, briefly explains why, and proposes a new timeline with specific next steps. Keep it under 200 words.”Why it works: You’ve given the AI the what (email about delay), the why (technical issues), the who (a boss who values directness), and the how (professional, solution-focused, concise).
Summarizing Documents
The common mistake:“Summarize this article.”The prompt engineer’s approach:
“Summarize this article for someone who has 2 minutes to decide whether to read the full thing. Include: the main argument, 2-3 key supporting points, and any surprising findings or conclusions. Format as bullet points. If the article makes recommendations, list those separately at the end.”Why it works: You’ve specified the audience (busy decision-maker), the purpose (decide whether to read more), and the format (bullet points with specific sections).
Brainstorming Ideas
The common mistake:“Give me ideas for team building activities.”The prompt engineer’s approach:
“I’m planning a team building activity for a group of 12 people. We’re a remote team meeting in person for the first time at a conference in Chicago. We have a 2-hour window on Thursday evening, budget of around $500, and we have team members who don’t drink alcohol. Some people are introverted and hate forced icebreakers. Give me 5 creative ideas that would help us actually get to know each other without feeling awkward. For each idea, briefly explain why it might work for our specific situation.”Why it works: You’ve loaded the prompt with specific constraints and context. The AI can now generate ideas tailored to your actual situation rather than generic suggestions you’d find in any Google search.
Analyzing Information
The common mistake:“What do you think of this business plan?”The prompt engineer’s approach:
“Act as an experienced venture capital investor who has seen hundreds of business plans. Review the attached business plan and provide analysis in three parts:Why it works: You’ve assigned a knowledgeable role, requested structured output, and explicitly asked for honest feedback (which helps overcome AI’s tendency toward generic positivity).Be direct and specific. I’d rather hear honest concerns now than polished encouragement.”
- STRENGTHS: What’s compelling about this opportunity?
- CONCERNS: What questions or red flags would you raise?
- MISSING PIECES: What information would you want before making a decision?
Try It Yourself: The Transformation Exercise
Let’s practice turning weak prompts into strong ones. For each prompt below, identify what’s missing and rewrite it using the techniques you’ve learned.Exercise 1: The Vague Request
Original: “Help me prepare for my interview.” What’s missing? (Think about it before reading on…) The AI doesn’t know: What job? What company? What stage of the interview process? What are you worried about? What’s your background? Your turn: Rewrite this prompt to include the relevant context.Exercise 2: The Formatless Ask
Original: “Tell me about climate change.” What’s missing? No audience, no purpose, no format, no constraints. This could produce a 10-page essay or a single sentence. Your turn: Rewrite this for a specific situation. Maybe you’re preparing a 5-minute presentation for high school students, or you need talking points for a skeptical relative, or you’re writing a newsletter for your company.Exercise 3: The Skipped Steps
Original: “Should I take this job offer?” What’s missing? The AI has no information about you, the offer, your priorities, or your alternatives. And for a complex decision like this, you probably want it to think through multiple angles. Your turn: Rewrite this to give the AI what it needs to actually help you think through the decision.Creating Your Personal Prompt Templates
Here’s a secret that experienced prompt engineers know: you don’t need to craft every prompt from scratch. Once you find prompts that work well for tasks you do regularly, save them as templates.How to Build Your Template Library
Step 1: Notice patterns What types of tasks do you use AI for repeatedly? Emails? Meeting summaries? Research? First drafts? Feedback on your writing? Step 2: Create your first templates Take your best prompts for recurring tasks and turn them into fill-in-the-blank templates. Here are some starters:Email Template:
Feedback Request Template:
Learning/Explanation Template:
Decision-Making Template:
Step 3: Refine over time Every time you use a template and get great results, note what worked. When something falls flat, figure out why and update your template. Your library will get better the more you use it.
Common Pitfalls (One Last Time)
As you head out into the world with your new skills, watch out for these traps: The “It Worked Once” Trap Just because a prompt worked perfectly one time doesn’t mean it will always work, especially if you’re using different AI tools or the model has been updated. Stay flexible and be ready to iterate. The “More Is Always Better” Trap Yes, context matters. But there’s such a thing as too much. If you dump your entire life story into every prompt, the AI might lose focus on what actually matters. Include relevant context, not all context. The “Set It and Forget It” Trap Your prompt templates are starting points, not final destinations. The best prompts evolve as you learn what works, as your needs change, and as AI tools improve. The “AI Said It, Must Be True” Trap You’ve learned to troubleshoot and verify. Don’t forget that now that you’re more confident. Even with perfect prompts, AI can still make mistakes. Your judgment matters.Level Up: Your Capstone Challenge
You’ve made it to the final challenge of this course. Here’s your mission: Create a “Prompt Engineering Playbook” for your own life.- Identify 3-5 tasks you do regularly where AI could help (work tasks, personal projects, whatever fits your life)
- For each task, create a polished prompt template using the techniques from this course
- Test each template at least twice, noting what works and what needs adjustment
- Refine and save your templates somewhere you’ll actually use them
Where to Go From Here
Congratulations. Seriously. You’ve done something most people never bother to do: you’ve actually learned how to communicate effectively with AI. That’s a skill that will only become more valuable. But learning doesn’t stop here. Here are some ways to keep growing:Keep Practicing
The single best way to improve is to use what you’ve learned. Every prompt is practice. Every iteration teaches you something. Make prompting part of your regular workflow.Stay Curious
AI is evolving fast. New models bring new capabilities (and sometimes new quirks). Follow the updates from major AI providers, not to chase every shiny feature, but to understand how your tools are changing.Explore Different Tools
If you’ve mainly used one AI assistant, try others. Different models have different strengths. Claude tends to be great at nuanced analysis and writing. GPT excels at certain technical tasks. Experimenting helps you understand what’s possible and match tools to tasks.Learn From the Community
There are vibrant communities of people sharing prompting techniques, templates, and discoveries. Reddit forums, Discord servers, newsletters: find the sources that match your interests and skill level.Teach Someone Else
One of the best ways to solidify your own understanding is to explain it to someone else. When a colleague or friend asks how to get better results from AI, you now have a lot to share.Conclusion: You’ve Got This
Think back to that first tentative prompt you ever typed. Compare it to what you know now:- You understand that AI predicts based on patterns, and you can shape those predictions with clear instructions
- You know how to provide context that eliminates guesswork
- You can show the AI exactly what you want through examples
- You can assign roles to tap into different expertise and perspectives
- You know when to ask for step-by-step reasoning
- You’re comfortable iterating and refining until you get what you need
- And when things go wrong, you can diagnose the problem and fix it
Thank you for completing the Prompt Engineering 102 course. We hope these skills serve you well, and that AI becomes a trusted tool in your work and life.