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Check a purchase request for the seven required fields

  • For Office and admin
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

Write a prompt for plain text with exactly two lines starting "Present:" and "Missing or unclear:". The required fields are item, quantity, estimated cost, budget code, delivery date, requester and approver. A vague value like ASAP is unclear, not present. Separate items with semicolons. Under 50 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Accepting ASAP. The AI lists the delivery date as present. Try: Say: "A vague value such as ASAP is unclear, not present."
  • Missing the approver. The AI assumes Hector approves his own request. Try: Say: "The approver is a separate field; list it if not named."
  • Wrong structure. The AI writes a checklist with ticks. Try: Say: "Exactly two lines: Present: and Missing or unclear:".
  • Getting markdown back. AI adds bold, headings and bullets by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted. Try: Say "plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks".
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands over the limit. Try: Cap each part instead of the total, for example "each line under 15 words".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Quotes the two lines
  • Lists the seven fields
  • Handles vague values
  • Uses semicolons
  • Asks for plain text

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