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Answer a teen volunteer application with the details they check
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're applying to a hospital's teen volunteer program. The form asks what you'd bring. Answer under 70 words, first person: give your weekly availability and its total hours, name your CPR certification exactly as on the card, and include one specific experience. Skip clichés ('I love helping people', 'people person', 'passionate'). Write a prompt that gets that answer.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- 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: "4 sentences, each under 16 words."
- Vague availability. The AI writes "I have flexible availability" instead of the hours they check against the 4-hour rule. Try: Say it: "Tuesdays 4-7 pm and Saturdays 9-noon, 6 hours a week."
- Nickname instead of the real name. Your notes say 'basic CPR'. The program checks the card's exact name. Try: Add: "Call it Heartsaver CPR AED."
- Generic reasons. AI answers say "I love helping people", which every applicant writes. Try: Add: "Use my bingo or Bengali example. No clichés."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets a word limit
- Gives exact hours
- Uses the exact certification
- Gives a specific example
- Bans clichés
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