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Using Generative AI in Academic Study: Prompt Engineering

A guide to best practices for using Generative AI in your university study

🔧 Prompt Engineering: Getting Better Quality Outputs

Generative AI tools rely heavily on the instructions they’re given. The way you phrase your prompt can dramatically shape the kind of response you get. In other words, thoughtful and well-structured prompts lead to better, more useful results.

This is where prompt engineering comes in, it’s the practice of tweaking and improving your prompts to get clearer, more accurate, or more creative output from AI. It’s especially helpful when your first attempt doesn’t seem quite right, and you need to refine your approach to guide the AI tool more effectively.

Option 1 - The CLEAR Framework

The CLEAR Prompt Engineering Framework, developed by Dr. Leo S. Lo, is a structured approach designed to help you create more effective prompts when interacting with AI tools.

Concise
  • Lo emphasises: "Brevity and clarity in prompts"
    • So make sure your prompt is specific and to the point

 

Logical
  • Lo emphasises: "Structured and coherent prompts"
    • So keep your prompt clear and convey each concept in a logical order

 

Explicit
  • Lo emphasises: "Clear output specifications" 
    • So give the tool clear and detailed guidance on the format, content, or scope you want in the response to improve the quality of the output

 

Adaptive
  • Lo emphasises: "Flexibility and customization in prompts"
    • So to generate varied responses from the AI tool and explore new perspectives, try different ways of phrasing and structuring your prompt

 

Reflective
  • Lo emphasises: "Continuous evaluation and improvement of prompts"
    • So refine your prompts by reviewing the AI tool's responses and using your own judgment to make improvements for better results

Adapted from: Lo, L. S. (2023). The CLEAR path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), 102720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720

How Does That Look in Practice?

Option 2 - Context, Task, Output

We can also simplify this process to focus on context, task and output, thinking in terms of giving instructions to a capable assistant who needs very clear direction.

Element

What to Include

Context

Role, audience, background info

Task

Clear, detailed instructions

Output

Format, tone, inclusions/exclusions

How Does That Look in Practice?

Context: You are a health professional with ten years’ experience in the fitness, health, and wellbeing industry. You are working on a project that is promoting healthy lunches in schools. The goal is to raise awareness on the benefits of eating well and the positive impacts this has on children’s learning in the classroom. The target audience includes parents of young children, school teachers and the general public who may also be interested.

Task: The proposal should mention the benefits of healthy and nutritious eating for children, such as improved wellbeing, supporting child development and learning, improved levels of concentration, behaviour and school achievement, as well as boosting overall health. It should include five bullet points for each area: campaign objectives, target audience, key messages, partnerships, content ideas, recipe ideas and timeline.

Output: Please structure it in a format that is easy to present to stakeholders, such as a PowerPoint presentation. The tone of the proposal should be professional, persuasive, and visually appealing. It should also include suggestions for imagery and design elements that align with the theme of promoting healthy lunches in schools.

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