Name the shape you want back

The same facts can come back as a paragraph, a list, a table or an email. Only one of them is ready to paste where it is going. If you do not say which, the model picks, and chat models often reach for headings and bullet points, even for an answer you wanted as plain paragraphs.

Form is about where the answer goes next. A table pastes into a spreadsheet. Numbered steps go into a how-to. An email needs a subject line and paragraphs, not headings. A program reads exact JSON keys and nothing else.

Compare these three laptop quotes.

Compare the three laptop quotes below in a table with one row per vendor and columns for price per laptop, warranty length and delivery time. Under the table, add one sentence on which quote is the best value.

Naming a table, its rows and its columns passes Form, the one-sentence verdict sets a size, and “below” points to the pasted quotes.

Describe the skeleton

The clearest way to name a format is to describe its skeleton: the sections in order, the column names, what goes first. “Three sections headed Done, At risk and Need from you” leaves nothing to guess. “A table with columns for task, owner and due date” pastes straight into a tracker.

Some shapes come up again and again at work:

• An email: a subject line, then short paragraphs, signed with your first name.
• A table: one row per item, with the columns named.
• Numbered steps, when order matters, as in a how-to.
• Sections with headings, for a document people will scan.
• JSON with named keys, when software will read the result. The extract to JSON pattern shows how.

Say what you want, not what you don’t

“No bullet points” leaves the model guessing what to use instead. “Two short paragraphs of plain prose” says it. Anthropic’s guidance recommends describing the format you want rather than listing formats to avoid, and the same habit works with any model.

Order is part of the format too. Ask for the decision first and the reasons after, and a reader who stops after one line still gets what they need. The ask for a format and compare options in a table patterns have ready-made phrasings.

When software reads the answer

If the result goes into a spreadsheet import, a script or another tool, describe the format exactly: name every column or key, say what goes in an empty cell, and ask for the data alone. A chat model may open with a friendly line such as “Here is your table,” which is harmless in a chat and breaks an import. Test the format on a few real inputs before you rely on it, and see start the answer for it for a way to pin down the first line.

If you already have a layout you like, paste its headings or column names into the prompt and let the model fill them in. It is faster than describing them.

Compare the three cleaning quotes below for my manager, who will pick one on Monday. Keep it under half a page. Put it in a table with one row per company and columns for monthly cost including supplies, visits per week and contract length. Under the table, add one sentence on which quote is the best value.

"""
Northside Cleaning: $1,450 a month, 3 visits a week, 12-month contract, supplies included.
Lakeview Janitorial: $1,200 a month, 3 visits a week, 6-month contract, supplies extra (about $150 a month).
Corner Office Cleaners: $1,600 a month, 5 visits a week, month to month, supplies included.
"""

Write this week's update on the payroll system move for my director, who reads it on Friday afternoons. Under 150 words. Use three sections headed Done, At risk and Need from you, with short bullets under each.

This week: data migration finished. Staff training slipped a week to May 19 because the trainer was out sick. I need approval for 20 hours of overtime for the payroll team.

Write an email to our customers about our price change. From July 1, the Team plan goes from $29 to $34 a month. Customers who pay yearly keep their current price until renewal. Keep it under 150 words. Give it a subject line, then two short paragraphs: the new price and the date in the first, and what yearly customers should expect in the second.

Remember. Name the shape the answer should take, based on where it goes next.