Improve Prompt

Step 2: Identify Improvements

Common issues to address:

• Vague instructions → Make specific
• Missing context → Add relevant background
• No output format → Specify structure
• No examples → Add few-shot examples
• No constraints → Add guardrails
• Too long → Consolidate and prioritize

Step 3: Apply Best Practices

For Claude:

• Use XML tags for structure
• Leverage extended thinking for complex tasks
• Request step-by-step reasoning
• Use positive framing ("do X" not "don't do Y")

For all models:

• Put important instructions at start and end
• Use numbered steps for sequences
• Provide concrete examples
• Specify output format explicitly
• Include edge case handling

Step 4: Generate Improved Prompt

Output the optimized prompt with:

• Clear structure
• Explicit instructions
• Defined output format
• Examples if beneficial

Output Format

## Prompt Analysis

**Original prompt issues:**
1. [Issue 1]
2. [Issue 2]

**Improvements applied:**
1. [Improvement 1]
2. [Improvement 2]

---

## Improved Prompt

[The optimized prompt, ready to copy]

---

## Usage Notes

- **Best for:** [model/use case]
- **Expected output:** [description]
- **Variations:** [any suggested variations]

Quality Gates

• All ambiguities resolved
• Output format specified
• Appropriate length (not bloated)
• Tested mentally for edge cases
• Model-appropriate techniques used

Examples

Example: Vague prompt improvement

Before: Summarize this document

After: Summarize the following document in 3-5 bullet points. Focus on:

Key findings or conclusions Important data points Recommended actions

Format each bullet as: [Topic]: [1-2 sentence summary] <document> [Document content here] </document>