{"id":"ind-np-esl-room-confirmation","audience":"nonprofit","category":"writing-emails","technique":"grounding","title":"Confirm room bookings with a partner church for ESL classes","free":false,"task":"You're confirming the winter ESL class room booking with your partner church. Write an email under 90 words, plain text: the room and time in the first sentence, then the exact class dates as one comma-separated list that skips the church's blackout dates, then your one setup request. Don't ask about the dates the church already said no to. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"The emails and your class plan (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"YOUR CLASS PLAN - Open Door Adult Learning (fictional)\nWinter ESL: Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM, Jan 6 through Feb 24 (8 weeks)\nRoom: Fellowship Hall, Grace Community Church (fictional)\nSetup needed: 6 tables in a U shape and the projector (they have one).\n\nFROM: Harold Benning, Facilities, Grace Community Church (Nov 4)\n\"Happy to host again! Fellowship Hall is free Tuesday evenings except Jan 20 (annual meeting) and Feb 17 (Lenten supper). Please confirm the dates you'll use. FYI the hall's projector bulb was replaced in October.\"\n\nMY NOTES\n- We'll make up the 2 missed weeks by adding Mar 3 and Mar 10 - Harold said in a call that March Tuesdays are all open.\n- 22 students registered.\n- Last year we left the coffee maker on once; Harold was nice about it.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 90 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"4 sentences, each under 25 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Burying the booking","why":"The AI opens with thanks and catching up.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence: Fellowship Hall, Tuesdays 6-8 PM.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Getting the dates wrong","why":"The AI lists every Tuesday from Jan 6 to Feb 24, including blackout dates, or forgets the March makeups.","fix":"Add: \"Skip Jan 20 and Feb 17; add Mar 3 and Mar 10. One comma-separated list.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Extra asks","why":"The AI asks whether the blackout dates might open up, or adds several requests.","fix":"Add: \"One setup request: 6 tables in a U, plus the projector.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Ignoring where it will be pasted","why":"AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email.","fix":"Name the place and the format: \"For the email. Plain text, no bold or headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Leads with the booking","patterns":["first sentence","lead with","fellowship hall","6:00"]},{"label":"Skips blackout dates","patterns":["skip","jan(uary)? 20","feb(ruary)? 17","blackout"]},{"label":"Adds the makeup dates","patterns":["mar(ch)? 3","makeup","march"]},{"label":"Makes one request","patterns":["one (setup )?request","u shape","tables"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Date lists go wrong on the exceptions. Tell the AI which dates to skip, which to add, and to keep the request to one.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence confirms Fellowship Hall on Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM","Lists exactly these 8 dates as one comma-separated list: Jan 6, Jan 13, Jan 27, Feb 3, Feb 10, Feb 24, Mar 3, Mar 10 (no Jan 20 or Feb 17)","Makes one setup request (6 tables in a U shape with the projector), and doesn't ask about Jan 20 or Feb 17 or mention the coffee maker"]}