The work prompt skeleton
A fill-in prompt for any work task. Fill the blanks, delete the lines you do not need, and paste.
The skeleton
Material:
"""
{{document_or_data}}
"""
Context: {{facts_it_cannot_guess}}
Task: {{verb_and_what_to_produce}}
Reader: {{who_reads_it_and_what_they_do_next}}
Length: {{words_items_or_pages}}
Format: {{format_with_sections_or_columns}}
Leave out: {{what_to_avoid_and_why}}
Success looks like: {{a_test_for_the_answer}}
Example to match: {{short_sample}}
If unsure: {{what_to_do_when_something_is_missing}}
What goes on each line
| Line | What to write | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Material | The document, data or notes, between triple quotes. Long material goes first. | Material |
| Context | What the model cannot guess: who you are, what happened, the numbers and dates. | Material |
| Task | One precise verb and the thing to produce. | Task |
| Reader | Who reads it and what they will do next. | Purpose |
| Length | Words, items, pages or minutes. | Scope |
| Format | Email, table, list or JSON, with the sections or columns named. | Form |
| Leave out | What to avoid, with the reason. | Limits |
| Success looks like | A test someone could apply to the answer. | Standard |
| Example to match | A short sample of the shape or tone you want. | Reference |
| If unsure | What to do when a fact is missing: ask, mark it, or say so. | Doubt |
One labeled line per part, with a blank line between blocks, is the layout that suits any chat model, which is the tenth check, Fit.
Filled in
Material:
"""
{{printer_quotes}}
"""
Context: We are a 40-person design studio. Our printer lease ends on March 31. We print about 3,000 pages a month, mostly in color.
Task: Compare the three quotes above and recommend one.
Reader: Our operations manager, who will approve the choice on Friday and has not read the quotes.
Length: Under 200 words, plus the table.
Format: A table with one row per supplier and these columns: monthly cost, cost per color page, contract length, repair terms. Then your recommendation in two sentences.
Leave out: brand history and marketing claims, which do not affect the decision.
Success looks like: the manager can approve or reject your choice without opening the quotes.
Example of one row: | Supplier A | $412 | 6 cents | 36 months | next-day repair |
If unsure: if a quote leaves out a figure, write "not stated" in that cell instead of estimating it.
With Written for set to Any chat model, the Grader’s free estimate scores this 10 out of 10, Superintelligent. The one-line version, “Compare these three printer quotes and recommend one.”, scores 1, Guess. Written for Claude, the full version scores 9 until each part is wrapped in XML tags.
Short on time
Keep Task, Reader and Length, the cheapest lines to write. Add If unsure whenever facts matter, and paste the result into thinkhard.si/grader/ to see what is still missing.