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AI Workshop

This library research guide supports AI workshops taught in Holman Library.

What is prompt crafting or prompt engineering?

Prompt crafting is the process of carefully designing prompts (instructions) to guide a language model like GPT to generate specific, desired outputs.

 

Think of prompts as instructions that guide AI's "imagination."

Example (Brainstorming):

Weak: "Essay topics about climate change."

Creative: "Imagine you are a futurist in 2050. What are three unexpected challenges and opportunities related to climate change that college students should be aware of?"

 

Example (Generating Ideas):

Weak: "Summarize this article."

Creative: "Explain the main argument of this article to someone unfamiliar with it, using a metaphor."

The more refined your prompt is, the better your results will be.

Try it yourself

Choose an AI tool and select one of these

  • Compare the results of the Weak and Creative Prompts or
  • Try one of the Example Scenarios below or
  • Experiment writing your own prompt for a current assignment

 

Example Scenario 1: Brainstorm three potential angles for a short paper on the impact of social media on communication.

Example Scenario 2: I'm a college freshman in a public speaking class. I'm doing a 5 minute explanatory speech on the causes of global warming. Can you help me write an outline for my speech?

Example Scenario 3: I have a 5 paragraph argumentative essay to write about raising the minimum wage in the U.S. Please generate 3-5 thesis statements, each with 3 subpoints that I might use for body paragraphs.

Example Scenario 4: You need to explain a complex concept from your current readings to a classmate. Write a prompt asking AI to help you do this clearly.