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Score three vendors with your own weights and a correction
- For Office and admin
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
You're choosing a printer-lease vendor for the office. Weight the scores this way: cost counts x5, service x3, contract terms x2. Write exactly 4 numbered lines: one per vendor showing the math (like 4x5 + 3x3 + 2x2 = 33), then 4. Pick: the winner and one reason under 15 words. Plain text, under 90 words. A score was corrected after the table was made.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the weights. Without weights, the AI averages the scores or picks the crowd favorite. Try: Add: "Cost counts x5, service x3, contract x2."
- Missing the correction. The table still says 4, and the AI doesn't read the email below it. Try: Add: "Use Hollis's correction: BrightPrint service is 2."
- Hiding the math. The AI states totals without working, so you can't check them. Try: Add: "Show the math on each line, like 4x5 + 3x3 + 2x2 = 33."
- A long comparison essay. The AI writes a table, pros and cons, and a markdown recommendation section. Try: Say: "Exactly 4 numbered lines, plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting words, so a total word cap usually lands over. Try: Cap each part: "the reason under 12 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the weights
- Uses the correction
- Asks to show the math
- Sets the line count
- Caps the length
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