Prompt Pattern Reference
Instruction-based prompting
Give the AI clear, structured instructions.
Write a 150-word product description for a noise-cancelling headphone. Use short sentences. Include price ($249), battery life (30 hrs), and one customer quote.
Summarise photosynthesis in exactly 3 bullet points suitable for a 10-year-old. Use simple language and no jargon.
Role-based prompting
Assign the AI a specific role.
You are a certified financial planner. A 28-year-old client earns $80,000/year and has no savings. What are their first three steps to build wealth?
Act as a local travel guide specialising in Kuching, Malaysia. A family of four has 3 days. Create a cultural and food-focused itinerary.
Chain-of-thought prompting
Ask the AI to reason through a problem step by step.
Think through this step by step: A company's revenue grew 15% but profits fell 5%. What are the most likely explanations? Show your reasoning before concluding.
Walk me step by step through how you would explain compound interest to a 12-year-old, then show an example calculation.
Few-shot prompting
Show examples of the desired result.
Classify the feedback as Positive, Negative, or Neutral. Example: Clean layout → Positive. Too bright → Negative. Now classify: The onboarding took me 5 minutes.
RTCF
Structure a prompt with Role, Task, Context, and Format.
CREATE
Use Character, Request, Examples, Adjustments, Type, and Extras.
RISEN
Use Role, Instructions, Steps, End Goal, and Narrowing.