Understanding prompts - the primary interface between humans and AI models.
A prompt is the text input you send to an AI model — it is the primary interface for communicating your intent. The quality of your prompt directly determines the quality of the output. Learning to write effective prompts is the single most impactful skill for anyone working with AI.
Prompts have structure: a system prompt sets the model's behavior and role, user messages provide specific requests, and the conversation history gives context. Understanding this structure and writing clear, specific instructions with relevant context is the foundation of "prompt engineering."
What Is a Prompt
Your text instructions to an AI model — the primary interface for communicating intent. The quality of your prompt directly determines the quality of the output.
System Prompts
Hidden instructions that set model personality, rules, and behavior boundaries. They persist across the entire conversation and define the model's "character."
User Prompts
Specific requests and questions within a conversation. Each user message is a prompt that builds on the conversation history and system prompt context.
Prompt Structure
Effective prompts have structure: instruction (what to do) + context (background info) + examples (desired format) + constraints (rules/limits) + output format (JSON, markdown, etc.).
Writing Clear Prompts
Be specific ("summarize in 3 bullet points" not "summarize"), provide relevant context, state format expectations explicitly. Clarity beats cleverness every time.
Role Prompting
"You are an expert in..." activates domain-specific knowledge and communication style. Role prompts help models adopt appropriate tone, vocabulary, and depth for the task.
Few-Shot Prompting
Providing 2-5 examples of desired input/output pairs in the prompt. Shows the model exactly what format, style, and quality you expect without any fine-tuning.
Common Prompt Templates
Analysis (break down X), summarization (summarize for Y audience), code generation (write a function that...), creative writing (write in the style of...). Templates save time and improve consistency.
Iterative Refinement
Improving prompts based on output quality feedback. Start simple, identify what's wrong, add constraints or examples to fix it. Prompt engineering is iterative, not one-shot.
Anti-Patterns & Risks
Vague instructions ("make it better"), contradictory constraints, overly long prompts that dilute focus, and prompt injection risks where malicious text overrides your instructions.
System PromptHidden instructions that set model behavior, personality, and rules for the conversation.
Few-ShotProviding examples in the prompt to show the model what output format/style you want.
Prompt EngineeringThe practice of crafting effective prompts to get desired results from AI models.
Prompt InjectionAn attack where malicious instructions are embedded to override the system prompt.