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Reply to an employee whose laptop will not start

  • For IT teams
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You work at the IT Service Desk. Reply to Marta in plain text, under 90 words. First line exactly "Hi Marta," and last line exactly "IT Service Desk". Tell her how to get a loaner and by when, where her files are, and not to try to open the laptop. Do not guess about lost files.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Repeating the tech's guess. The note says files might be gone and the AI warns about it. Try: Add: "Do not guess about lost files."
  • Missing the deadline. The AI says 'come by the Service Desk' with no time. Try: Say: "Before 5 PM today, or Monday from 8 AM, with her badge."
  • Generic greeting and sign-off. The AI writes 'Dear Marta' and a personal signature. Try: Give both lines exactly.
  • Getting markdown back. AI adds bold and headings by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted. Try: Say "plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks".
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands well over the limit. Try: Cap each part instead of the total, for example "each line under 15 words".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Asks for plain text
  • Sets a length limit
  • Sets exact lines
  • Includes the loaner details

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