Email a local editor about a summer internship, briefly

About this exercise

You want a summer internship at your town newspaper, which doesn't advertise one. Get an email under 100 words, plain text, to the editor who handles community news, with a subject line starting "Subject:". Link one clip, ask for a 15-minute chat rather than a job, and say you can work unpaid only through the school's credit program, which only you know about. Sign off exactly "Thanks, Ruby Chen".

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Writing to the wrong editor. The AI writes to the editor-in-chief, the first name it sees. Try: Add: "Write to Dana Ortiz, the community editor."
• Asking for too much. The AI asks for an internship outright, which is easy to say no to when none exists. Try: Add: "Ask for a 15-minute chat, and link my compost story."
• Leaving out the credit program. The AI can't know your school offers credit, and an editor may worry about paying you. Try: Add: "Say I can work unpaid through my school's credit program."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over. Try: Cap each part: "5 sentences, each under 16 words."
• Forgetting where it's going. AI adds bold and headings that show up as stray symbols in an email. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, no headings."

What a strong prompt includes

• Picks the right editor
• Makes a small ask
• Mentions the credit program
• Links a clip
• Sets a length limit

Practice this now ↑

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