Confirm room bookings with a partner church for ESL classes

About this exercise

You're confirming the winter ESL class room booking with your partner church. Write an email under 90 words, plain text: the room and time in the first sentence, then the exact class dates as one comma-separated list that skips the church's blackout dates, then your one setup request. Don't ask about the dates the church already said no to. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "4 sentences, each under 25 words."
• Burying the booking. The AI opens with thanks and catching up. Try: Add: "First sentence: Fellowship Hall, Tuesdays 6-8 PM."
• Getting the dates wrong. The AI lists every Tuesday from Jan 6 to Feb 24, including blackout dates, or forgets the March makeups. Try: Add: "Skip Jan 20 and Feb 17; add Mar 3 and Mar 10. One comma-separated list."
• Extra asks. The AI asks whether the blackout dates might open up, or adds several requests. Try: Add: "One setup request: 6 tables in a U, plus the projector."
• Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the email. Plain text, no bold or headings."

What a strong prompt includes

• Leads with the booking
• Skips blackout dates
• Adds the makeup dates
• Makes one request
• Sets a word limit

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