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Pack for a band trip using the director's rules
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're in the marching band and leaving for a two-day competition trip. You want a packing list of exactly 8 numbered items, each with a quantity, under 60 words, plain text. Follow the director's latest email (one thing from the old list is now banned, and one uniform piece changed), and only include items from your notes, no generic packing tips. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Copying the old list. The old handout is written out in full, and the AI keeps white gloves and aerosol. Try: Add: "Follow the director's Nov 12 email: black gloves, no aerosol, no dinner money."
- Adding generic tips. The AI adds snacks, sunscreen and a phone charger. Try: Add: "Only items from my notes. No general packing tips."
- Leaving out quantities. The AI lists items without numbers. Try: Add: "Give a quantity for every item."
- Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI makes checkboxes with bold categories. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 8 numbered items, plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 8 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says how many items
- Follows the latest email
- Bans outside tips
- Asks for quantities
- Sets a word limit
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