Technique explanation

Many AIs today are chatbots you talk to in plain language. What you type is called a prompt, and the quality of your prompt hugely affects the answer. Vague prompt → vague answer. A good prompt is clear and specific: it says what you want, gives useful context, and can ask for a format. Compare "tell me about dogs" with "Explain to a 10-year-old why dogs are good pets, in 3 short bullet points." The second gets a far better answer. Also remember: an AI chatbot predicts likely words — it can sound confident and still be wrong, so you check important facts yourself. Being good at AI isn't about tricking it; it's about asking clearly.

Worked examples

🧩 Unplugged activity: Take a boring prompt like "write about space." Rewrite it three times, each more specific — add who it's for, how long, and the format you want. Which version would get the best answer, and why?