Writing good requests: role, context, task, format and examples

1Why wording matters so much

An AI assistant knows neither your organisation, nor your programme, nor your donor, nor your audience. A vague request ("Write a report on our project") produces generic text full of empty phrases. A precise request produces a usable first draft.

People often talk about prompt engineering. For everyday professional use, it is not about magic formulas but about good briefing practice, the same as briefing a competent new colleague who is discovering the file.

Simple test: if you gave your request as it stands to a consultant who knows nothing about your project, could they do a good job? If not, neither can the AI.

2The five elements of a good request

• Role: the expected perspective. "You are an experienced MEAL specialist in nutrition programmes." The role steers vocabulary and the level of rigour.
• Context: who you are, the programme, the country, the audience, the constraints. "National NGO, nutrition programme funded by a European donor, three districts, interim report at 6 months."
• Task: a clear action verb. "Write the 'Progress by result' section from the data below."
• Constraints: length, tone, elements to include or exclude, rules. "400 words maximum, factual tone, do not invent any figure, flag missing data."
• Format: table, list, paragraphs, headings, language. "A table indicator / target / achieved / comment, then two paragraphs."

Complete example. "You are the grants manager of a medical NGO. Context: we are responding to a EUR 500,000 call for proposals for primary health care in two provinces; the donor requires an approach centred on accountability to affected populations. Task: propose a detailed outline of the 'Accountability' section (headings and subheadings, 3 points per subheading). Constraints: one page maximum, no promise we cannot keep, Core Humanitarian Standard terms. Format: numbered list."

3Giving examples and documents

The most reliable way to get the desired style is to show an example. A paragraph from a past report the donor liked, an email template, a well-completed indicator sheet: the assistant will imitate the structure and tone.

For long reference documents, use clear markers: "Here is the logframe between the tags <logframe> and </logframe>, and the quarter's data between <data> and </data>." Both assistants handle this kind of structuring well.

Explicitly ask the assistant to rely only on the documents provided when accuracy matters: "If information is not in the documents, write 'information not available' instead of guessing it." This sentence clearly reduces invention.

Caution. Before pasting a document, check that it contains no personal or sensitive data (week 3). A past donor report sometimes contains beneficiary names, partner lists or security incidents.

4Iterating: the conversation is a workshop

The first answer is rarely the right one. Rather than rewriting everything, correct step by step:

• "Shorten to 250 words, keeping the three key figures."
• "The tone is too promotional; make it factual, like a monitoring report."
• "The second paragraph repeats the first: merge them."
• "Add a line on delays due to the rainy season, with their effect on indicator 2.1."

Two very effective techniques:

• Ask for questions first: "Before drafting, ask me the 5 questions you need to do a good job." The assistant thus reveals what your brief is missing.
• Ask for a critique: "Review this text as a demanding donor evaluator: list the 5 main weaknesses, from most to least serious." Then correct it yourself or with the AI.

When a conversation drifts or becomes very long, start a fresh conversation with an improved brief: it is often faster.

5Standing instructions: Projects and Gems

If you often repeat the same context, do not paste it every time:

• in Claude, a Project brings together standing instructions and reference documents (for example the communication charter, the logframe, the glossary) shared by all conversations in the project; depending on the plan, a project can be shared with colleagues;
• in Gemini, a Gem is a custom assistant with its instructions and, depending on the version, reference files.

Example of standing instructions for a communications officer: "You help the communications team of NGO X. Tone: sober, respectful, no pity-based imagery. Never identify a child or a victim. Always use 'internally displaced people' and not 'refugees' for IDPs. Default length: 150 words. Flag any statement that requires a source."

These instructions embody the organisation's rules. They must be reviewed by the responsible person, like any procedure document.

6A request library for the team

The teams that get the most value from AI share their requests that work. A simple library (a shared document or spreadsheet) contains for each standard request:

• the name and use ("Summary of the minutes of a cluster meeting");
• the text of the request, with fields to fill in between square brackets;
• the documents to provide and those never to provide;
• the mandatory checkpoints ("check dates and organisation names");
• the author and date of last update.

Start small: 10 requests for the most frequent tasks of the job (emails, minutes, summaries, rephrasing, translations). Measure the time saved and the quality, then expand.

A good request is worth a good document template: it can be shared, tested, improved and filed with the procedures.