Vague
Tell me about teamwork.
What Is a Prompt?
Instruction • Audience • Output Shape
A prompt is the instruction text sent to the model. It is the part you control directly. If you change the prompt, you change the behavior. That is why prompting is a real engineering skill. Most prompts define three things: - the task - the audience - the output shape
Vague vs structured
Structured
Explain teamwork to a new employee in 3 bullet points.
The second prompt defines: the task (explain teamwork), the audience (a new employee), and the output shape (3 bullet points). The model no longer has to guess those details.
A prompt works best when the expected behavior is clear. In instructional engineering, prompts are not just requests. They are executable behavioral instructions.
Prompts define what the model should do, who the output is for, and how the result should be shaped.
Practice
Start with the prompt: Explain how batteries work. Run it, then improve it. Add who the explanation is for, what format to use, and any constraints.