Write strong instructions
Give the model enough context, boundaries, and output structure to produce useful work.
AI and Machine Learning with Google Cloud
From Google Cloud. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Pause when the instructors add context, delimit input, or specify output. Label those parts in your own reusable instruction block.What this lesson is really solving.
Write instructions like a compact work order: objective, audience, source context, boundaries, output form, and acceptance criteria. Examples help when style or categorization is hard to describe. Ask the model to expose uncertainty rather than invent missing facts.
Understand the idea before touching the steps.
A prompt is a brief: outcome, context, source material, constraints, examples, and acceptance test.
Follow these steps in order.
Take the action in each step; then use the deliverable below to prove the lesson is finished.
- 1
State the task and real audience in the first lines instead of assigning a vague expert persona.
- 2
Provide only the source material and background required, clearly separating instructions from reference text.
- 3
Specify must-include facts, prohibited assumptions, desired structure, length, and tone.
- 4
Ask for missing information, uncertainty flags, and a final self-check against explicit criteria.
See the standard in context.
The manager provides a transcript and says: produce decisions, action items with owner and due date only when explicitly stated, unresolved questions, and a 100-word recap. Quote the timestamp for each action, write 'not specified' for missing owners, and do not infer commitments.
Inspect before you move on.
- Required facts and supplied facts are clearly separated.
- The output format makes omissions and review easy to detect.
- Instructions state what to do when information is missing or conflicting.
Your deliverable
A reusable prompt template and one completed brief for a real task.
Watch for this
Adding adjectives such as ‘world-class’ while omitting data, constraints, and a definition of done.
Prove it—don’t just recognize it.
Another person could evaluate the output without asking what ‘good’ means.
Quick knowledge check
Answer from the lesson—not from confidence alone. Score at least 2 of 3 to unlock completion.
This curriculum-aligned check is scored automatically and stored with your account when signed in. It is an objective learning signal, but it has not yet been independently validated as a standardized assessment.
Tools, templates, and references
Pass the knowledge check above first.
Completion unlocks after a score of 2 out of 3. Then confirm that you produced the lesson deliverable.
Go to the knowledge check