Writing instructions that work

Why the instruction matters

The instruction you give an AI assistant is called a prompt. The quality of the result depends heavily on it. "Write a letter about the pension case" produces something generic. A clear instruction produces something close to usable. Writing good instructions is called prompt engineering, but there is nothing technical about it. It is the same skill as briefing a junior colleague well.

A five-part structure

A good office prompt usually covers five things:

1. Role and context: who it is writing for and why. "You are helping a section officer in a provincial department reply to a citizen."
2. Task: exactly what to produce. "Draft a reply letter."
3. Content: the facts and decisions to include, with sensitive details replaced by placeholders. "The case was forwarded to the Accounts Office on [date]; the citizen will be informed within 30 days."
4. Format: structure, length and style. "Standard government letter format, under 150 words, formal but polite."
5. Constraints: what to avoid. "Do not mention any rule or notification. Do not promise a decision."

You will not always need all five, but checking them takes ten seconds.

Examples

A weak prompt:

Summarise this report.

A strong prompt:

I am preparing a brief for a Deputy Secretary before a meeting with a donor agency. Summarise the attached public report in no more than 8 bullet points covering: main findings, recommendations, costs mentioned and deadlines. Give the page number for each point. Write in plain English. If something is unclear in the report, say so rather than guessing.

Techniques that help

• Give an example. Paste a past document (with sensitive details removed) and say "in the same style as this".
• Ask for options. "Give me three versions: formal, brief and very simple."
• Build in honesty. "If you are not sure, say so." "If the information is not in the document, write NOT FOUND." This reduces invented content.
• Work in steps. For complex tasks, ask for an outline first, agree it, then ask for the full text.
• Correct in small moves. "Shorter." "Remove paragraph two." "More polite to a senior officer." Follow-up instructions are often faster than starting again.
• Ask it to criticise. "What is unclear or might be misread in this draft?" AI is often better at reviewing than at getting it right first time.

Language

You can write prompts in English, Urdu or Roman Urdu. For official English documents, an English prompt usually gives the most reliable result. For Urdu output, say which register you need: formal official Urdu or everyday Urdu.

What a prompt cannot do

No prompt makes the AI's facts reliable. Asking it to "be accurate" does not stop hallucination. Good prompts improve shape, tone and relevance. Checking is still your job and is the subject of module 7.

Try it

Take a task you did this week. Write a one-line prompt for it, run it and note the result. Then rewrite the prompt using the five-part structure and run it again. Compare the two.

Check yourself

1. What are the five parts of a good office prompt?
2. Name one instruction that reduces invented content.
3. Does a well-written prompt guarantee correct facts?

Answers: (1) Role and context, task, content, format, constraints. (2) For example: "If the information is not in the document, write NOT FOUND" or "If you are not sure, say so." (3) No. It improves the shape of the output, not the reliability of its facts.