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Write a capstone team's weekly status for the professor
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your senior capstone team sends your professor a weekly status every Friday. You want exactly 3 lines labeled Done:, Next:, and Blocked:, under 70 words, plain text. Something the group chat called done was reopened, so it can't be listed as done, and leave out the chatter. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the labels. The AI writes a paragraph or a long list by person. Try: Add: "Exactly 3 lines labeled Done:, Next:, Blocked:."
- Counting reopened work as done. Ana's first message says done, and the AI keeps it there. Try: Add: "The survey was reopened, so it goes under Next, not Done."
- Hiding the blocker. The AI mentions the missing data as a side note. Try: Add: "Blocked: what we're waiting on and from whom."
- Keeping the chatter. The AI includes jokes and emoji from the chat. Try: Add: "Skip the chatter. Plain text, no bold."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 12 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the labels
- Catches the reopened task
- Names the blocker
- Limits the sentences
- Sets a word limit
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