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Label budget variances favorable or unfavorable after a prepayment
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're sending the marketing department head her October budget variances. Label under-budget lines F (favorable) and over-budget lines U (unfavorable), and show variance as a percent of budget. Travel includes a $2,000 prepayment for next year's conference that shouldn't count this year. Write exactly 4 numbered lines, each as Line: actual − budget = $X F or U (Y%). Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not mentioning the prepayment. The AI leaves next year's deposit in this year's travel, tripling the overage. Try: Add: "Remove the $2,000 BrandCon 2026 deposit from Travel."
- Not defining F and U. The AI uses plus and minus signs that readers interpret both ways. Try: Add: "Under budget = F, over = U."
- Not asking to see the work. A department head will question bare labels. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Salaries: 118,000 − 120,000 = $2,000 F (2%)"
- 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 12 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in an email to a department head. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Removes the prepayment
- Defines F and U
- Asks to show the math
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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