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Artificial Intelligence

AI is integrated into more and more of our lives, how can you use it safely at school?

Effective Prompts

A prompt is the input (usually text) that provides the instructions to a GenAI tool (like ChatGPT) to generate a response.

The following are some general tips for what is now becoming known as 'prompt engineering' (UNESCO, 2023):

  • Keep it simple. Clear, straight forward language in a logical order. Avoid complex or ambiguous wording.
  • Include examples to illustrate the desired output or format for generate content.
  • Include context. This helps to generate relevant and meaningful responses.
  • Refine as needed. You may need to experiment with variations of your prompt to get the desired output.
  • Your word choice matters. How a prompt is written can generate biased or harmful responses. Review your word choice carefully to avoid inappropriate responses. Avoid using leading or loaded questions that may produce biased responses.

 

-Adapted from the Fleming College LibGuide on GenAI

CLEAR

Be brief and clear in your prompt

“Identify factors behind China's recent economic growth.”

instead of

“Please provide me with an extensive discussion on the factors that contributed to the economic growth of China during the last few decades”

Ensure that the provided information follows a natural progression and that the relationships between concepts are evident

“List the steps to write a research paper, beginning with selecting a topic and ending with proofreading the final draft”

Provide precise instructions about format, content, or scope

“List five…”

“Create a table comparing…”

“Take on the role of a Socratic opponent for a discussion about…”

Be flexible and experiment with different prompt formulations

If a prompt such as, “Describe the history of computers” yields too much information, use a more specific and adaptive prompt like, “Explain the development of personal computers from the 1970s to the 1990s.”

Evaluate the responses for accuracy, relevance, and completeness