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Email a parent about phone use in class, facts first

Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're emailing a parent about her son's phone use in class. Keep it under 90 words, plain text: the first sentence states the specific behavior and how many times this week (no "I hope this finds you well" or "I wanted to reach out" opener), then the one step you've already taken, then one specific ask of the parent phrased as a question. No labels about the student, no comparisons to classmates, and nothing from the hallway rumor. 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 20 words."
  • Warming up first. The AI opens with "I hope this email finds you well" or "I wanted to reach out" and the facts come later. Try: Add: "No warm-up. First sentence: phone use during class, 3 times this week."
  • Too many asks. The AI asks the parent to do several things, as statements. Try: Add: "Say I moved his seat, then one ask as a question."
  • Labels and rumors. The AI calls him "distracted" or repeats the game rumor. Try: Add: "No labels, comparisons or the rumor. Facts only."
  • 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 facts
  • Makes one ask
  • Rules out labels
  • Skips the rumor
  • Sets a word limit

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