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Your Prompt Toolkit

Copy a starting prompt, replace the [brackets], and adapt it to your real task. Then read the answer critically. No magic words required.

COPY · CUSTOMISE · CHECK

Eight ready-to-use prompt templates

1 · Explain something simply

Explain [topic] to someone who’s completely new to it. Use plain UK English, one everyday example and a short summary. Explain technical terms rather than assuming I know them. Tell me which points might need verification.

2 · Learn one step at a time

Act as a patient tutor for [topic]. Teach one small concept, then ask me one question and wait for my reply. Correct mistakes clearly and repeat anything I struggle with. Don’t move on until I can explain it back.

3 · Improve a message

Rewrite the following non-sensitive draft for [audience] in a [tone] tone. Keep the meaning and original facts. Don’t add promises or details I haven’t supplied. Keep it under [word count] words: [draft].

4 · Plan realistically

Help me plan [task or event] with [time] available and [budget] to spend. Create a prioritised checklist. Tell me what won’t fit, what’s missing and which items I should check in the real world.

5 · Brainstorm different ideas

Give me five genuinely different ideas for [goal] aimed at [audience]. My constraints are [constraints]. Avoid [overused ideas]. For each, give one advantage, one drawback and a small first step.

6 · Compare options

Help me compare [option A] and [option B] for [purpose]. Use a table with cost, effort, benefits, downsides and unknowns. Don’t invent current prices or features. Tell me which facts I must verify independently.

7 · Summarise notes safely

Summarise these fictional or non-sensitive notes as: decisions, action items, owners, dates and unresolved questions. Do not invent owners, decisions or deadlines. Use “not supplied” for missing information: [notes].

8 · Check an AI answer

Review this answer for potentially unsupported claims, outdated details, hidden assumptions and privacy concerns. Mark what needs checking, suggest appropriate original sources, and clearly say what you can’t verify: [answer].

The five-part prompt recipe

Task + Context + Format + Constraints + Examples. Start with the parts your request needs. Adding unnecessary instructions doesn’t automatically make a result better.

Your 30-second answer check

Does this directly answer what I asked?
Has anything been invented, assumed or quietly changed?
Are names, numbers, dates, sources or rules important enough to check?
Did I avoid sharing data that isn’t mine or isn’t appropriate?
Would I be comfortable taking responsibility for this final result?

Plain-English glossary

AI (artificial intelligence): Technology that performs tasks involving pattern recognition, prediction, language or decisions.
Generative AI: AI that generates content such as text, images, audio or code.
Model: The underlying system trained to recognise patterns and generate outputs.
Prompt: The request or instructions you send to an AI tool.
Context: Background information that helps a model understand the task.
Follow-up: A second instruction that clarifies, corrects or extends an answer.
Hallucination: An AI-generated claim or detail that is incorrect or made up, sometimes convincingly.
Bias: A tendency to produce unfair or distorted results, often reflecting the data or process used.
Verification: Checking a claim against dependable outside evidence.
Automation: Using software to perform repeated steps; not every AI response is an automated action.
Personal data: Information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.
Human review: A person checking a system’s output and deciding what action, if any, is appropriate.

Keep this handy: this toolkit is a starting point, not a guarantee. Good prompts improve clarity; verification and judgement still matter.

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