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How to write better AI prompts

A prompt is simply what you ask an AI. Clear prompts get useful answers on the first try more often. You don’t need special tricks, just the same things you’d tell a helpful person.Updated September 29, 2026

The four parts of a clear prompt

  1. Goal: what you want done. “Write”, “summarise”, “compare”, “explain”.
  2. Context: who it’s for, the situation and anything the AI can’t guess.
  3. Shape: the length, format and tone you want.
  4. Material: the notes, text or data to work from, pasted in or described.

You won’t need all four every time. Short tasks can take one line; bigger tasks need more.

Before and after

  • Before: “Write an email.” After: “Draft a friendly 100-word email asking my team for feedback on Friday’s workshop. End with a question they can answer in one line.”
  • Before: “Explain inflation.” After: “Explain inflation to a 12-year-old in three short paragraphs, with one example using the price of pizza.”
  • Before: “Plan my trip.” After: “Plan a 3-day trip to San Diego for two adults on a $600 budget, no car. Give a day-by-day table with rough costs.”

Follow up to fix one thing at a time

The first answer is a draft. Improve it with short follow-ups that change one thing: “Make it more casual.” “Cut it to 50 words.” “Use bullet points.” “What did you assume that I should check?” This is usually faster than rewriting your whole prompt.

Ask for better thinking, not just better text

  • Ask for options: “Give me three different approaches and the trade-offs of each.”
  • Ask it to ask you: “Before you answer, ask me up to three questions you need answered.”
  • Ask for critique: “What’s weak about this plan?”
  • Ask for sources, and then check them yourself.

Common prompt mistakes

  • Leading questions: “Why is my idea great?” invites agreement. Ask “What are the strengths and weaknesses?”
  • Too much at once: split big jobs into steps.
  • Pasting private information: use made-up names and numbers instead.
  • Trusting the first answer: check facts, numbers and quotes before you use them.

How Mekat helps

Mekat’s “Asking well” stage teaches these skills with practice: say what you want, give the right context, shape the answer, follow-ups that fix one thing, and bigger asks with steps, questions, options and critique. Try a mini lesson or see the full learning path.

Quick answers

What makes a good AI prompt?

A clear goal, the context the AI can’t guess, and the shape you want the answer in, such as the length, format and tone. Then follow up to improve it.

Do prompts work the same in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude?

Mostly. The basics of clear goals, context and format work across AI chatbots. Each tool has its own strengths, so compare them on your own tasks.

Sources

Written by the Mekat team at Martinez Solutions LLC, Glendale, Arizona. Spotted something out of date? support@martinezsolutionsaz.com