Skip to main content
Skillrung

Writing a prompt for an AI: getting a usable result the first time

A prompt that works has five parts: the role you are addressing, the useful context, the task, the constraints and the expected format. Leaving one out means letting the assistant decide on its own. Everything that matters has to fit inside the current conversation: as soon as the topic changes, open a new one. If the result disappoints, do not start again from scratch: name the part that was missing and ask again.

  • Written by Skillrung team
  • Review by a subject-matter expert under way
  • Updated on
Read the first 4 slides, freePlay the Discovery quiz, free

What is this course about?

Write a complete prompt the first time, spot what was missing when the result disappoints, and follow up without rewriting everything.

This is a core course: the material taught is the same for everyone, only the examples, the tools mentioned and the people you deal with change with your job. It has 3 sections, of which 1 section is followed by a quiz, and reads in 25-30 min. The legal framework cited is French law.

It is not the tool that misunderstood

You type a ten-word request between two meetings. What comes back is polite, correct and unusable: nothing precise, everything to be rewritten. The reflex is to blame the tool. But you had not said who you were writing to, or why, or in what form. The assistant filled in the gaps for you, and it knows nothing about your structure.

Key points

Four common complaints, four causes in the prompt

You have surely said one of these this week. Every time, the cause lies in what was not written.

  • “It is too long”: no limit had been given
  • “It looks nothing like us”: no context
  • “It makes things up”: the prompt did not allow for doubt
  • “It just agrees with me”: you had asked for a confirmation

What you will be able to do

  • Understand where a disappointing result comes from and what is at stake in the wording.
  • Build a complete prompt and follow up usefully when the result is not right.
  • Turn the five parts into a habit in the writing you do this week.

The first 4 slides, free

What you read with no account and no card. Here, the generic version; in the player, the examples take the vocabulary of your job.

Try it, before you even create an account

Choose a job: the passage below is rewritten straight away. Nothing is saved, and no extra content opens.

No job selected: the generic version is being shown.

Generic version
You type a ten-word request between two meetings. What comes back is polite, correct and unusable: nothing precise, everything to be rewritten. The reflex is to blame the tool. But you had not said who you were writing to, or why, or in what form. The assistant filled in the gaps for you, and it knows nothing about your structure.

Real extract from the free slide “It is not the tool that misunderstood” of this course.

  1. FreeSlide 1 of 13 · Why the result comes out wide of the mark

    It is not the tool that misunderstood

    You type a ten-word request between two meetings. What comes back is polite, correct and unusable: nothing precise, everything to be rewritten. The reflex is to blame the tool. But you had not said who you were writing to, or why, or in what form. The assistant filled in the gaps for you, and it knows nothing about your structure.

  2. FreeSlide 2 of 13 · Why the result comes out wide of the mark

    What you will be able to do by the end

    • Spot what a prompt is missing before you send it
    • Write a request the assistant cannot read the wrong way
    • Follow up on the right point when the answer disappoints
  3. FreeSlide 3 of 13 · Why the result comes out wide of the mark

    Four common complaints, four causes in the prompt

    You have surely said one of these this week. Every time, the cause lies in what was not written.

    • “It is too long”: no limit had been given
    • “It looks nothing like us”: no context
    • “It makes things up”: the prompt did not allow for doubt
    • “It just agrees with me”: you had asked for a confirmation
  4. FreeSlide 4 of 13 · Why the result comes out wide of the mark

    Where do you stand?

    One question before you read anything at all. It measures the gap between what you think you are asking for and what the assistant actually receives.

    1 short questions, marked immediately, inside the course.

These 4 slides can be read in the player, with no account and no card.

Read the first slide

Programme

3 sections, 13 slides and 4 quizzes in total. Each content section ends with a quiz that checks it has been learned.

  1. IntroductionFree

    Why the result comes out wide of the mark

    Understand where a disappointing result comes from and what is at stake in the wording.

    • 4 slides
  2. SectionSubscribers

    Write a prompt that works

    Build a complete prompt and follow up usefully when the result is not right.

    • 7 slides
    • Section quiz: 5 questions
  3. RecapSubscribers

    Your action plan

    Turn the five parts into a habit in the writing you do this week.

    • 2 slides

9 slides are for subscribers

The first four slides of this course can be read without an account and without a bank card. From the fifth on, the €29.99/month incl. VAT subscription is needed. The Beginner level quiz, though, stays free: it measures your level without asking you for anything.

Subscribe, €29.99/month incl. VATPlay the Discovery quiz, free

How your level is measured

  • Beginner
    Questions drawn
    10
    Pass mark
    70 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 30
    Time limit
    20 min

    Free, no account and no subscription.

  • Intermediate
    Questions drawn
    12
    Pass mark
    75 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 36
    Time limit
    24 min

    Subscribers only, once the Beginner level is passed.

  • Expert
    Questions drawn
    15
    Pass mark
    80 %
    Question bank
    ≥ 45
    Time limit
    30 min

    Subscribers only, once the Intermediate level is passed.

The level shown for a course is the highest level you have passed, with your best score and its date. Questions are drawn at random on every attempt. Play the Beginner quiz for this course or read how we measure your level.

Which jobs is it for?

Common core: the examples change with your job, what is taught stays the same. It addresses all 58 jobs in the directory. See courses by job.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to write a long prompt to get a good result?

No. What counts is precision, not length. Three lines that name the reader, the deliverable and the question expected are worth more than a page of generalities. Write what the assistant cannot guess, and nothing else. You will soon know what to add: the first result shows you what you had left to its choice.

The result does not suit me: do I have to write the prompt again from the start?

Rarely. Start from what was produced and say precisely what is wrong: too long, wrong recipient, unsuitable tone, invented passage. A targeted follow-up corrects things faster than a rewritten prompt. On the other hand, if you change topic or if the exchange has dragged on, it is better to open a fresh conversation and put back into it only what is useful.

Can you reuse the same prompt from one time to the next?

Yes, and that is the whole point. A prompt that has worked well is kept in a file, with the passages to be replaced marked. You then only rewrite the context of the day. Reread it before each use all the same: a constraint that was useful last week may no longer match today's need.

What can I read without a subscription?

The first four slides of every course are available without an account and without a subscription, as is the Beginner level quiz. From the fifth slide onwards, the €29.99/month incl. VAT subscription is required. Creating a free account unlocks no extra slide: it keeps your progress, your job and your results.

How is my level measured?

By three level quizzes: Beginner (10 questions, 70 % to pass), Intermediate (12 questions, 75 %) and Expert (15 questions, 80 %). The level shown is the highest level passed, with the best score obtained and its date.

Who writes and who reviews this course

  • Skillrung team

    Editorial team of skillrung.com

    The skillrung editorial team writes the courses from the publications of the French and European authorities: ANSSI, CNIL, Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, Légifrance and EUR-Lex. Every figure is tied to its primary source, dated and verifiable from the course page. The team does not stand in for an expert reviewer: every course intended for publication is reviewed by a named professional of the field concerned, whose name and review date appear on the course page.

Artificial intelligence assisted the drafting. Editorial responsibility for the published text remains human.

Statements with regulatory scope verified on .

Sources

Every figure stated in this course points to a primary source, dated and verifiable.

  1. Règlement (UE) 2024/1689 établissant des règles harmonisées concernant l'intelligence artificielle

    EUR-Lex : Journal officiel de l'Union européenne, published on

  2. Recommandations de sécurité pour un système d'IA générative

    ANSSI, published on

  3. Les fiches pratiques IA

    CNIL, published on

  4. Mata v. Avianca, Inc., opinion and order on sanctions, No. 22-cv-1461 (S.D.N.Y.)

    Justia : US District Court, Southern District of New York, published on

What Skillrung is not

  • Skillrung is not a French training body certified under the Qualiopi scheme.
  • As things stand, our content is not eligible for the French CPF, OPCO, DPC or FAF funding schemes.
  • A Skillrung certificate of completion is not a diploma, not a professional title and not a qualification registered in any national register. It records a result obtained in an unsupervised online assessment, on a given date.
  • Taking a Skillrung course does not make your organisation compliant and does not replace the obligations that fall on your employer or on you.
  • Our content is educational. It is neither legal advice, nor medical advice, nor a security audit.
  • For a self-employed professional or a company, the subscription is a deductible business expense : confirm this with your accountant.

Same topic

The other artificial intelligence courses

See the whole catalogueOur method

Keep going on Skillrung

The pages that follow on from this one, in the recommended order.