Library › Writing AI › Office and admin
Request training money with a cost breakdown that fits the rules
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're requesting money from your department's training fund for a course. The request form needs under 80 words: name the course and date, show the cost math on one line, say how it helps your current work with one example, and request only what the fund covers. Plain text. Write a prompt that gets that request.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 80 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "3 sentences under 18 words plus one math line."
- Leaving out the basics. The AI writes about wanting to grow and forgets the course name and date. Try: Say it: "Name Advanced Excel for Office Professionals, Saturday, Jan 17."
- Requesting the wrong amount. The AI adds parking and lunch, or leaves out the workbook HR said counts. Try: Add: "Math line: $375 + $45 workbook = $420. No parking or lunch."
- Vague benefit. The AI says "it will improve my efficiency" with no example. Try: Add: "Use the 6-hour monthly road-repair report as the example. Plain text."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets a word limit
- Names the course and date
- Shows the math
- Leaves out uncovered costs
- Gives a work example
Related exercises
- Accept a job offer and confirm the exact terms (Writing AI · Job seekers)
- Announce a hybrid work policy change with clear actions (Writing AI · HR and recruiting)
- Announce a promotion with the right date and no pay details (Writing AI · HR and recruiting)
- Announce a team change and answer the first question (Writing AI · Managers and team leads)
- Announce a team meeting change people will actually follow (Writing AI · Managers and team leads)