Prompt Engineering: Zero to Reliable · Module 1 · The anatomy of a prompt
The four parts every good prompt has
6 min read · lesson 1 of 5
Most people type a question and hope. A prompt is not a question — it is a brief you hand to a very fast, very literal assistant. Every strong prompt answers four things: who the model is, what to produce, what context it has, and what shape the output takes.
1. Role
Tell the model who it should be. 'You are a senior financial analyst' changes vocabulary, assumptions and depth compared to no role at all. One sentence is enough.
2. Task
One clear deliverable. 'Write a product description for a £12 phone stand, maximum 60 words' beats 'help me with product descriptions' every single time.
3. Context
The specifics only you know: audience, tone, constraints, what to avoid. Context is where generic output becomes useful output.
4. Format
Say what the answer should look like: a table, three bullet points, JSON with exact keys, a 120-word paragraph. Without a format, the model picks one at random.
You are a senior product copywriter.
Task: write a product description for a £12 aluminium phone stand.
Context: buyers are desk-setup enthusiasts on Instagram; avoid superlatives; mention stability.
Format: maximum 60 words, one paragraph, end with the benefit.Copy that structure — role, task, context, format — into a note. It is the skeleton of 90% of prompts you will ever need.
Practice
Rewrite one prompt you used this week with all four parts. Compare the outputs side by side.