Prompting for work and study
Check the answer, then improve it
Ask what it assumed, ask for the weak points, and verify anything that costs you if it is wrong.
Make it show its assumptions
After an answer, ask: "What did you assume? What would change this answer?" It often reveals a guess you would not have spotted.
You can also ask for the weakest part of its own answer. It will not always be right, but it points you at what to check.
Iterate in small steps
Do not start again from zero. Say what to change: "Keep the first paragraph. Make the second shorter. Remove the last sentence."
For anything with money, law, health or deadlines, treat the answer as a lead and confirm it on the official source.
Try it
Interrogate an answer
What did you assume in that answer, and which part are you least sure of?
- Ask any chatbot a practical question from your work.
- Then send the prompt above.
- Pick the least sure part and verify it on an official page.
What to look for: If the chatbot cannot name a source for a figure, do not use the figure.
Check yourself
Why is "make it better" a weak follow-up?
Show the answer
It does not say what is wrong. Name the change you want: shorter, simpler, more formal, a different order.
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