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Select every fourth invoice for a sample and total it

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You're selecting a systematic sample of 5 invoices from a population of 20 for an audit test. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Interval:", "Selected:", "Key items:" and "Total selected:". Interval is population divided by sample size. Start at the random start given, then take every interval-th invoice. Key items (over $3,000) are tested separately; list them but don't add them to the sample. Under 80 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Adding invoice 14 to the sample. The AI includes the large invoice in the sample. Try: Add: "Key items are listed but not part of the sample."
  • Wrong sequence. The AI starts at 1 or uses interval 5. Try: Say: "Start at invoice 3 and take every 4th: 3, 7, 11, 15, 19."
  • Judgment picks. The AI adds invoice 5 or 10 because they look large. Try: Add: "No judgment picks."
  • Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the four lines
  • Gives the start and interval
  • Separates key items
  • Bans judgment picks
  • Caps length

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