Basic Prompts: Foundation Exercises

🎯 Quick Practice Exercises

Master the fundamentals with these focused exercises.

📝 Exercise One: Clarity Transformation

Transform vague prompts into clear ones:

Vague -> Clear

Example:

• Vague: "Make a function"
• Clear: "Create a JavaScript function that validates email addresses using regex"

Your Turn:

1. Vague: "Build a website" Clear: ________________________________

2. Vague: "Fix the error" Clear: ________________________________

3. Vague: "Make it faster" Clear: ________________________________

🎨 Exercise 2: Context Addition

Add context to improve these prompts:

Without Context:

"Create a login form"

With Context:

"I'm building a banking application that requires high security.
Create a login form with..."

Practice These:

1. "Generate a data table" With context: ________________________________

2. "Write an API endpoint" With context: ________________________________

3. "Design a navigation menu" With context: ________________________________

🔤 Exercise 3: Output Format Specification

Specify exact output format:

Without Format:

"Get user data from database"

With Format:

"Get user data from database and return as:
{
  success: boolean,
  data: { id, name, email },
  timestamp: ISO string
}"

Your Specifications:

1. "Calculate shopping cart total" Format: ________________________________

2. "Validate form inputs" Format: ________________________________

3. "Process payment" Format: ________________________________

⚡ Exercise 4: Constraint Practice

Add helpful constraints:

Unconstrained:

"Sort an array"

Constrained:

"Sort an array of objects by date property, 
newest first, handle null values,
maximum O(n log n) complexity"

Add Constraints To:

1. "Create a password" Constraints: ________________________________

2. "Fetch data from API" Constraints: ________________________________

3. "Render a list" Constraints: ________________________________

🎯 Exercise 5: Success Criteria

Define clear success metrics:

Without Criteria:

"Optimize the function"

With Criteria:

"Optimize the function to:
- Execute in under 100ms
- Use less than 50MB memory
- Handle 1000 concurrent calls"

Define Success For:

1. "Improve the UI" Success = ________________________________

2. "Make it secure" Success = ________________________________

3. "Enhance performance" Success = ________________________________

📊 Self-Check Quiz

Answer these to test understanding:

1. What makes a prompt "good"?

   • It's short
   • It's specific and clear
   • It uses complex language
   • It includes context and constraints

2. When should you add examples?

   • Always
   • Never
   • When format is important
   • Only for complex tasks

3. Best way to handle complex requirements?

   • One massive prompt
   • Break into smaller prompts
   • Let AI figure it out
   • Add more context

🎉 Quick Wins

You've learned to transform weak prompts into powerful instructions! These fundamentals will improve every AI interaction you have.