Using AI effectively
Write a useful brief, preserve meaning, distinguish evidence from inference, and resume work reliably.
Give a bounded assignment and retain control of its substance.
What a prompt is, including the part you never see
A prompt is everything the model reads before it answers, including hidden instructions the application adds. Treat all of it as visible, and write explicit goals, source boundaries, and output requirements.
Give AI a brief it can actually follow
Turn a broad request into a reviewable assignment.
Keep evidence, instructions, and inference separate
Prevent a summary from quietly becoming a source of facts.
Package source material so the model can use it
Lists, tables, JSON, and tagged documents each suit different material. Choose the format deliberately, give every source an ID, and put long material before the question.
Ask for the working: chain of thought and reasoning models
Asking a model to reason step by step improved accuracy on multi-step tasks. Newer reasoning models do this on their own. Either way, written reasoning is output to check, not proof.
Improve a draft without changing its meaning
Review substance and expression in separate passes.
Does AI learn from your corrections?
Build continuity you can inspect rather than assume.
Build a reusable task pack
Save the brief, examples, and checks that make a recurring task work.
A useful way to work
Read in order for a gradual introduction, or use an individual lesson as a reference when a question comes up.