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Find which bakery items to bake less of from waste rates

Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You want to cut waste at your bakery. Day-old items sold at half price aren't waste; only what you throw out counts. Anything over 15% waste gets baked less. Write exactly 4 numbered lines, one per item, each as Item: (unsold − day-old sold) ÷ baked = X%, then CUT or OK, then one unnumbered last line: Bake less: [items]. Plain text, under 80 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not defining waste. The AI counts day-old sales as waste, so croissants and muffins look bad. Try: Add: "Waste = unsold − day-old sold."
  • Not giving the cutoff. The AI can't mark CUT or OK without a threshold. Try: Add: "Over 15% waste = CUT."
  • Not asking to see the work. Bare labels hide the math. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Croissants: (60 − 30) ÷ 300 = 10% OK"
  • 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 14 words."
  • Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in a note to your baker. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Defines waste
  • Gives the cutoff
  • Asks to show the math
  • Sets a word limit
  • Asks for plain text

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