Mastering Custom Prompts
Learn how to craft effective custom prompts to extract exactly the information you need from any content.
Understanding Custom Prompts
Custom prompts allow you to ask specific questions about the content or request summaries in particular formats. Instead of getting a general summary, you can focus on exactly what matters to you.
Example Prompts:
What are the main arguments in this article?
Focuses on identifying key points and supporting evidence
Summarize the methodology section in bullet points
Extracts specific sections in a preferred format
What are the limitations mentioned in this study?
Targets specific aspects of research papers
Best Practices
1. Be Specific
Instead of "summarize this," try "summarize the key findings and their implications for machine learning applications."
2. Specify Output Format
Request specific formats like "provide a bullet-point list" or "organize in sections with headings."
3. Use Follow-up Questions
After getting a summary, ask follow-up questions to dive deeper into specific aspects.
4. Consider Your Audience
Specify the target audience in your prompt, like "explain this for a beginner" or "summarize for technical experts."
Advanced Techniques
Comparative Analysis
Ask for comparisons between different sections or aspects of the content:
Compare and contrast the methods discussed in sections 2 and 3, focusing on their advantages and limitations
Multi-part Questions
Break down complex queries into structured parts:
1. What is the main hypothesis? 2. What evidence supports it? 3. What are the counterarguments?
Context Setting
Provide context for more relevant summaries:
I'm a product manager preparing for a presentation. Summarize the market analysis section, focusing on competitive advantages.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Vague Prompts
Avoid generic prompts like "tell me about this" or "what's important here?". Be specific about what you want to know.
Question Overload
Don't combine too many unrelated questions in a single prompt. Break them into separate, focused queries.
Next Steps
Ready to take your prompt engineering skills to the next level?