Prompt Engineering Basics
The 6 prompt patterns that work across ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Overview
Prompting isn't magic — it's a small set of repeatable patterns. Learn these six and your results will improve overnight, regardless of which model you use.
Step by step
- 1
Role + task + format
'You are a senior copy editor. Rewrite the following paragraph in 80 words, in plain English, as a bulleted list.' Three sentences, dramatically better output.
- 2
Few-shot examples
Show 2–3 examples of the input/output pattern you want. AI matches the pattern instantly.
- 3
Step-by-step reasoning
Add 'think through this step by step before answering.' Especially powerful for math, logic, and decisions.
- 4
Ask AI to ask YOU
'Before you answer, ask me 5 clarifying questions.' Reveals assumptions you didn't realize you were making.
- 5
Output schema
'Respond as JSON with fields: title, summary, tags (array of strings).' Use whenever another tool reads the output.
- 6
Self-critique
'Now critique your answer and write a stronger version.' Often the second version is 2x better.
Tips
- Specificity beats length. 50 specific words > 500 vague ones.
- If a prompt is great, save it. Build a personal prompt library.
- Test the same prompt on Claude and ChatGPT — they often differ wildly.
Common mistakes
- • Asking for 'good' or 'creative' output without defining what that means.
- • Mixing 3 questions in one prompt and getting a mush of an answer.
- • Not specifying the audience.