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Rewrite biased survey questions so they're neutral

Practice: Setting limits and rules. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

Your draft customer survey has leading and double-barreled questions. Rewrite them as exactly 4 numbered questions, each asking about one thing only, worded neutrally, and ending with its answer scale in parentheses, plain text, under 90 words. Drop the question the research lead cut.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Asking to 'improve the survey'. The AI rewrites all 6 questions with headings and design tips. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered questions. Plain text."
  • 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 question instead: "each question under 20 words including the scale."
  • Keeping double-barreled questions. The AI rewords but still asks about search and tagging together. Try: Add: "One topic per question: search only; first project setup only."
  • Leading wording. AI softens 'love' to 'enjoy', which still assumes a positive answer. Try: Add: "Neutral wording, like 'How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with...'."
  • Forgetting the scale. Without a scale, every respondent answers differently. Try: Add: "End each question with its scale in parentheses."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Asks for neutral wording
  • One topic per question
  • Adds answer scales
  • Sets the number of questions
  • Sets a word limit

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