The 8 prompt patterns behind a 100

1 Name the reader

Say who will read it, and where.

Unless you name a real reader, the AI writes for no one in particular. The reader decides the tone, the length and what to leave out.

Words that do it

For my manager, Dana, who reads it on her phone
My students are 9th graders
The parent will read this tonight

Real result: turn a messy email thread into a 30-second update for your boss

17/100 "summarize this"

100/100 "Write a Slack update for my manager, Dana, from the email thread below. She reads it on her phone right before a leadership meeting. - First line: the decision she needs to make and its deadline, under 20 words. - Then at most 3…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

2 Set the exact shape

Say exactly what the answer looks like: how many, in what layout.

Ask for "a list" and you get the AI's favorite list: long, bold and bulleted. Give the count and the layout, and you get something you can use as is.

Words that do it

Exactly 4 numbered lines
One formula for cell B2
Each line as: Owner - task - due

Real result: turn meeting notes into action items for your tracker

50/100 "list the action items"

100/100 "Turn my ops meeting notes below into action items for our team tracker, which only takes plain text. - Exactly 4 numbered lines, one per action item, with nothing before or after them. - Write each line as: Owner - task - due…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

3 Cap the length

Cap each part, not the total.

AI is bad at counting. Ask for 100 words and you often get 130. A cap on every line or bullet lands much closer, and the whole thing stays short.

Words that do it

Each bullet under 14 words
3 sentences, each under 15 words
Nothing before or after the list

Real result: turn rough work notes into 4 honest résumé bullets

33/100 "improve my resume for this job"

100/100 "Rewrite my work notes below into resume bullets for the Operations Coordinator posting below. - Exactly 4 bullets, each starting with "- " and a past-tense verb, each under 14 words. - Pick the 4 points that best match the…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

4 Stick to the source

Point it at your material, and tell it to use only that.

With nothing to go on, the AI fills gaps with guesses that sound right. Point it at your notes, the thread or the table, and ask it to say when something isn't there.

Words that do it

Use only facts from my notes
Use the corrected date from the latest email
If it's not in the notes, write "not in the source"

Practice it (5 minutes each)

5 Say what to leave out

Name what must not be in the answer.

The AI tries to be helpful and adds things: an intro, extra advice, private details, a rewrite you didn't ask for. Saying what to leave out stops it.

Words that do it

Do NOT rewrite it
Leave out everything under "Private"
No intro, no sign-off

Real result: get feedback on an essay intro, without the ai rewriting it

17/100 "give me feedback on my essay"

100/100 "Give me feedback on my essay intro below. It's graded, so do NOT rewrite it or suggest any replacement sentences or thesis. Just tell me what to fix and I'll write it myself. - Exactly 3 fixes, numbered "1.", "2.", "3." at the…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

6 Say what goes first

Tell it what the reader must see first.

People read the first line and skim the rest. If the decision, the deadline or the answer is buried in the middle, the message didn't do its job.

Words that do it

First line: the decision and its deadline
Line 1 is her own request
Lead with the answer, then the reason

Real result: turn a messy email thread into a 30-second update for your boss

17/100 "summarize this"

100/100 "Write a Slack update for my manager, Dana, from the email thread below. She reads it on her phone right before a leadership meeting. - First line: the decision she needs to make and its deadline, under 20 words. - Then at most 3…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

7 Give an example

Show one line of what you want.

One example beats a paragraph of description, because the AI copies the pattern it sees.

Words that do it

"ORTIZ, ana" becomes "Ana Ortiz"
Each line like: term: definition
Format: Owner - task - due

Real result: write one formula that turns "ortiz, ana" into "ana ortiz"

0/100 "clean up these names"

100/100 "Write one Google Sheets formula for B2 (I'll fill it down) that turns the name in A2 into First Last. - Example: " ORTIZ, ana " becomes "Ana Ortiz". - If A2 contains a comma: take the text after the comma, then a space, then the…"

Same AI, same task. Try this exercise

Practice it (5 minutes each)

8 Make it show its work

Ask it to show the math or check its own answer.

The AI can't reliably count or calculate in its head. When it shows each step or checks against a rule you gave it, mistakes become visible before they reach anyone.

Words that do it

Show the math for each line
Check that every exam gets time before its date
Flag anything the source doesn't support

Practice it (5 minutes each)