A good data work prompt isn't a magic trick. It's a checklist you don't have to remember, run by something that never gets bored.
Anchor to one reader
Lock the parts that never change and leave one slot for the variable. Now every run shares a family resemblance instead of starting from scratch.
Keep a negative list
Lock the parts that never change and leave one slot for the variable. Now every run shares a family resemblance instead of starting from scratch.
- Keep one ask per prompt — chaining beats cramming
- Name the audience and the single goal before you generate
- Compare two outputs instead of trusting one
Write down what you never want as explicitly as what you do. The exclusions often do more work than the instructions.