As with any new technology, how you interact with it will determine what you get out of it. While a generative AI is designed to be conversational you can design your questions (prompts) to influence responses. How you craft your prompts to draw out specific behaviours is referred to as prompting engineering.
What's included:
Getting Started
A well-crafted prompt acts like a clear set of instructions—it helps the AI understand not just what you want, but how you want it delivered. To make your interactions more effective and efficient, great starter prompts typically include four key elements:
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- Your goal (i.e., what you want the AI assistant to accomplish)
- Your context (i.e., extra details that will help the AI assistant understand your question)
- Your sources (i.e., additional content that the AI assistant can reference to help respond)
- Your expectations (i.e., the essentials you'd like included in the respose)
Let's take a look at an example of goal, context, sources, and expectations (GCSE) in action.
| Goal |
Context |
Source |
Expectations |
| Generate a short summary and 3-5 bullet points |
to prepare me for a meeting with project sponsors. |
Focus on the main points from this document Project-Summary.docx. |
Use simple language so I can get up to speed quickly. Include project costs, timelines, and scope in the bullet points. |
Iterate and Regenerate
Great responses often emerge through refining your questions. Don’t settle for the first result—use iteration to improve clarity, tone, and completeness.
Tips:
- Use feedback loops: Tell Copilot what worked and what didn’t.
- Ask for variations: “Give me three alternative versions,” or “Make it more concise.”
Prompt Engineering Techniques for Better Prompts
Once you've got the foundational elements of a good prompt—goal, context, sources, and expectations (GCSE)—you can weave in more advanced techniques to enhance your interactions with AI tools. Think of these as additional approaches to help guide the assistant with greater precision, whether you're drafting communications, analyzing data, solving problems, or generating creative content.
Role Based Prompting
Giving Copilot a role helps add context so it can tailor responses to your needs. This is commonly used when you need to change the default behaviour of how Copilot responds. For example, responding in a specific communication style ("Speak like Shakespeare") or acting in a tailored way ("Explain this like a math tutor for a 10 year old").
Tips:
- Assign a role: “Act as a project manager,” “You’re a career coach,” etc.
- Provide background: Mention the audience, purpose, or scenario.
| Examples |
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Act as a university administrative coordinator preparing a communication for students about upcoming registration deadlines from https://www.sfu.ca/students/deadlines. Make the tone clear, professional, and supportive.
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Act as a professor designing a syllabus for an introductory psychology course based on the material from my_class.docx. Include learning objectives, weekly topics, and assessment methods.
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Act as a teaching assistant preparing a study guide for undergraduate students in a biology course based on topics from this PowerPoint presentation week4.pptx. Include key concepts, sample questions, and tips for exam preparation.
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Providing Examples (Few-Shot Prompting)
Another technique is showing examples that can help Copilot learn the pattern or style you want. This is often used when you need Copilot to format results in a specific way. For example, matching the tone of previous emails or creating tables with specific column headers.
Tips:
- Include 1–3 examples of the desired output.
- Keep examples short and consistent.
- Use this technique for formatting, tone, or structure.
| Examples |
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I'm trying to write a reminder email to students about upcoming tuition deadlines posted at https://www.sfu.ca/students/deadlines. Here's an example I have so far:
“Hi everyone,
Just a quick reminder that Fall tuition payments are due by September 15. Please check your student portal for details. Let us know if you have any questions!”
Help we write a similar reminder about when grades will be posted. Include links to https://www.sfu.ca/students/deadlines for more information.
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I'm writing concise feedback on student essays for a french studies course in a constructive and encouraging tone. Here are a few examples:
“Excellent travail de connexion entre la théorie et la pratique - votre analyse du comportement social était perspicace.”
“Envisagez d'élargir votre discussion sur les influences culturelles pour renforcer votre argument.”
Can you help me write feedback for the following paper student_paper.docx. I need to phrase my feedback in a way that encourages them to keep exploring digital learning trends in 1-2 sentences.
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Help me create study notes for my psychology exam. Use the format below. Examples:
Topic: Classical Conditioning
Key Concept: Learning through association
Example: Pavlov’s dogs salivating at the sound of a bell
Important Terms: Unconditioned stimulus, conditioned response
Topic: Operant Conditioning
Key Concept: Behavior shaped by rewards and punishments
Example: A student receives praise for completing homework
Important Terms: Reinforcement, punishment, behavior modification
Now create study notes for the topic “Cognitive Dissonance.” based on the material from week4slides.pptx.
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Chain-of-Thought (CoT) Prompting
Chain-of-Thought prompting encourages Copilot to reason step-by-step, improving accuracy and depth. This is often used when you need Copilot to check it's assumptions by breaking down complex ideas, or providing transparency when it responses.
Tips:
- Ask Copilot to explain its reasoning.
- Break complex tasks into smaller steps.
- Use phrases like “Let’s think step by step” or “First, identify…”
| Examples |
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Let’s think step by step: How can we improve employee engagement in a hybrid work environment?
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Explain how the peer review process works in academic publishing. First, outline the key stages, then describe the role of reviewers and editors.
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I’m preparing a training session for new faculty on inclusive teaching practices. Let’s break this into steps: first, define inclusive teaching; second, list common challenges; third, suggest practical strategies.
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