📚 Basics: Contents (2/4)
  1. Send your first request, then refine it
  2. Five ingredients of a good prompt
  3. Upload files and images to ChatGPT
  4. Check AI answers and results

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🔁 Cuts repetitive work

New to AI? Start here → Start 1. ChatGPT vs. Codex: what's the difference?

Last checked: November 10, 2026

Five ingredients of a good prompt

In one line

Five ingredients of a prompt that gets you the answer you want
Not the skill of writing long prompts, but the habit of filling in missing details.

The big picture

Illustration (may look a little different from the real screen)

A ready-to-copy request shown as it would look in the message box
Click the picture to see it larger.

Follow along

Goal, context, material, conditions, format

A prompt is the request you give the AI. You don’t need to fill in a long form every time, but if the answer is off, check whether one of these is missing.

  1. Goal: What do you want to make or find out?
  2. Context: Who will use the result, and where?
  3. Material: What should it base the answer on?
  4. Conditions: Length, tone, budget, limits?
  5. Format: A table, a list, an email? What shape do you need?

Turn “write an email” into this

★ Compare them ★

First request

Write an email to a client.

With conditions added

Write an email asking a client to reschedule a meeting. Keep it polite, 6 sentences or fewer. Leave the reason and the new time in square brackets.

If you don’t know a name or date, have it leave a blank. Making sure it doesn’t fill gaps with believable fake details is part of a good request.

Illustration (may look a little different from the real screen)

Email asking to reschedule a meeting. Polite, 6 sentences max. Leave anything unconfirmed blank.

Sample replySubject: Request to reschedule our meeting
Hi [Name],
Due to [reason], I'd like to ask if we could reschedule our meeting.
Would [new time] work for you?

Email asking to reschedule a meeting. Polite, 6 sentences max. Leave anything unconfirmed blank.

Sample replySubject: Request to reschedule our meeting
Hi [Name],
Due to [reason], I'd like to ask if we could reschedule our meeting.
Would [new time] work for you?

ChatGPT · Adding conditions

If you have an example in mind, add a short one

“Friendly” means different things to different people. Give one sentence you like as an example, and say which qualities it should follow.

Example
“Write it in a short, gentle tone like the example below. Don’t copy the sentences. Just use the tone as a reference.”

Prompts you can copy

Change the parts in square brackets to fit your situation, then paste it into ChatGPT or Codex.

Ask with all five ingredients

Goal: [what I want to make or find out] Context: [who will use it and where] Reference material: [what to base it on] Conditions: [length, tone, must-follow rules] Output format: [table, list, email, etc.] If you don't have enough information, ask me the key questions first. Don't guess facts that aren't in the material. Mark them as needing a check.

Improve an answer you already got

Keep [the part to keep] from the answer above. Only change [the part to change], in [this specific direction]. Show the result as [format]. If you added any new facts, tell me what they're based on.

Where people get stuck

Lots of people get stuck here. Find the one that matches your situation!

Even a good prompt doesn’t guarantee accuracy

Precise conditions help shape the result, but they can’t fully get rid of factual mistakes. Check sources for the latest prices, policies, and numbers, and add conditions after you see the first answer.

In real work, telling it the actual audience, material, and how you’ll judge the result is more useful than adding “Act like an expert.”

Quick check: If I write a precise prompt, can I skip fact-checking?

Answer: “No, check important facts separately”
A good prompt helps improve results but doesn’t guarantee they’re correct. You still need to check important facts and sources.

Official sources

Next tip

Upload files and images to ChatGPT →

I'm stuck here

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