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Compare a dorm and an apartment over the full school year
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're choosing housing for next year. The dorm bills only 8 months; the apartment is a 12-month lease, but your friend Kai already agreed to sublet it for the 3 summer months at $500 a month. You'd buy groceries 9 months. Write exactly 2 numbered lines with each option's full-year math, then one unnumbered last line: Cheaper: [option], by $X. Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not explaining the sublet. The AI charges you 12 months of rent with no summer income. Try: Add: "I sublet 3 summer months at $500."
- Mixing months. The AI bills the dorm 12 months or groceries 12 months. Try: Add: "Dorm 8 months; groceries 9 months."
- Not asking to see the work. Housing math has a lot of parts to check. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Dorm: 8 x $1,100 + $2,400 = $11,200"
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 22 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in your budget notes. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Mentions the sublet
- Sets the months
- Asks to show the math
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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