Introduction: Even the Same AI Answers Very Differently by How You Ask
When answers feel "shallow," "off-intent," or "too long," the cause is usually not model performance but prompt (instruction) design. Beginners should first learn three things: role definition, providing context, and specifying the output format. Just these greatly improve accuracy and reproducibility.
AI is good at long-text understanding, summarization, writing, and analysis, but responds vaguely to vague requests. Use it with the mindset of giving a good instruction sheet rather than dumping work on it.
The Basic Structure of a "Good Prompt"
In real work, this template tends to be stable.
You are [role].
Objective: [what you want]
Context: [background, target reader, constraints]
Input: [materials or situation]
Output format: [bullets, table, headings, char count, etc.]
Notes: [what to avoid, what to prioritize]For an internal email draft, for example:
You are an assistant well-versed in Japanese business documents.
Objective: write an email to coordinate a delivery date with a client.
Context: respectful to the recipient while honestly conveying our situation.
Input: delivery will be 3 days late due to a parts-procurement delay; partial advance delivery is possible.
Output format: three subject options, one body in polite Japanese.
Notes: don't sound like an excuse; include concrete countermeasures.Just this structure produces far more practical results than "write a delivery-delay email."
The Effect of Improvement, Before / After
Example 1: Blog outline
Before
Come up with an SEO article outline.Theme, reader, target keywords, and depth are unclear.
After
