Mastering GPT: tips for making prompts
Prepared by Hi, AI! mediaWhat is a prompt?
A prompt is your request, based on which ChatGPT generates text. GPT is a highly versatile and powerful tool that can be used for various purposes. It can provide quick and accurate responses, from generating creative content to answering complex questions.
It's important to remember that the output depends on the prompt's quality. A well-crafted prompt will result in a well-crafted response, so it's crucial to take the time to write an excellent prompt to unlock the full potential of ChatGPT.
You can write prompts in any language.
Be aware:
- the bot may occasionally generate incorrect information. Please, check the facts.
- GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models are trained on the data until September 2021. They have limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021.
Elements of a prompt
A prompt may contain any of the following elements:
- Instruction – a specific task or instruction you want the model to perform;
- Context – external information or additional context that can steer the model to better responses;
- Input Data – the input or question that we are interested in finding an answer for;
- Output Indicator – the type or format of the output.
Prompt:
[Instruction] Answer a given input question.
[Context] You are a language model trained on a diverse range of topics and have access to vast information from various sources.
[Input Data] "What is the capital city of France?"
[Output Indicator] A single sentence response containing the name of the capital city of France.
Output: The capital city of France is Paris.
Examples of prompts for different language tasks
Start with a clear goal. Determine what you want the chatbot to achieve through the prompt. This could be copywriting, guiding the conversation, text translation, solving a problem, or code generation. Here are several examples:
1. Copywriting
Prompt: Create a promo copy for the FamilyTime mobile application. It allows unlimited uploading and special filters and makes it easy to create albums of photos and videos.
Output: FamilyTime is the perfect app to share and create memories with your family. FamilyTime is a free, unlimited photo and video editor that allows you to create albums of your memories. It has a special filter for the perfect summer look and is so simple to use.
2. Rewriting
Prompt: Rewrite the following to make it simple: Due to the fact that the meteorological conditions are unfavorable and there is a high probability of rain, it has been decided to reschedule the outdoor event to a later date.
Output: The outdoor event is postponed because the weather is not good and it might rain.
3. Summarization
Prompt: Summarize this email into a single sentence:
Dear Olivia,
The solar energy conference went great. New Horizon Manufacturing wants to meet with us to talk about the photovoltaic window system we’re about to launch. I think it would be great to talk this Tuesday.
Best, Allison
Output: Allison is excited to meet with New Horizon Manufacturing to discuss their photovoltaic window system.
4. Translation
Prompt: Translate the following text into French: "Where can I find a bookstore?"
Output: Où puis-je trouver un magasin de livres?
5. Code generation
Prompt: Table departments, columns = [DepartmentId, DepartmentName]Table students, columns = [DepartmentId, StudentId, StudentName]Create a MySQL query for all students in the Computer Science Department
Output: SELECT StudentId, StudentName FROM students WHERE DepartmentId IN (SELECT DepartmentId FROM departments WHERE DepartmentName = 'Computer Science');
General tips for designing prompts
Here are some tips to keep in mind while you are designing your prompts:
1. Start with a clear task
You can design effective prompts for various simple tasks by using commands to instruct the model what you want to achieve, such as "Write", "Classify", "Summarize", "Translate", "Order", etc.
2. Provide details to get more relevant answer
In order to get a highly relevant response, make sure that requests provide any important details or context. Otherwise you are leaving it up to the model to guess what you mean.
Worse: Summarize the meeting notes...
Better: Summarize the meeting notes in a single paragraph. Then write a list of the speakers and each of their key points. Finally, list the next steps or action items suggested by the speakers, if any...
3. Keep it concise
Keep the prompt brief and to the point. Avoid using unnecessary words or information that confuse the chatbot or delay the response.
4. Use delimiters to clearly indicate distinct parts of the prompt
Delimiters like triple quotation marks or section titles can help divide sections of text to be treated differently.
Prompt: Summarize the text delimited by triple quotes in a single paragraph.
"""Text"""
5. Limit the length of the response
The chatbot doesn't know what type of text you need – several detailed paragraphs or a concise definition. To avoid sending multiple requests, add a target length. Note however that instructing the model to generate a specific number of words does not work with high precision. The model can more reliably generate outputs with a specific number of paragraphs or bullet points.
6. Provide feedback if the output is not what you want
If outputs are too long, ask for brief replies. If outputs are too simple, ask for expert-level writing. If you dislike the format, demonstrate the format you’d like to see. The less GPTs have to guess at what you want, the more likely you’ll get it.
Using role models
One of the most effective features of GPT is its ability to work as an assistant in various fields. To do this, all that is required is to explain the chatbot its role.
Prompt: Imagine that you are a teacher in an Elementary school. Explain to the children what physics is.
Output: Physics studies how things work and why they move. It helps us understand the world around us. For example, when you throw a ball, physics helps us understand why it moves in a certain direction and how far it will go. Physics also helps us understand how electricity works, how light travels, and how sound travels. So, in simple words, physics is all about understanding the way things move and work in our world. I hope you find this interesting and exciting. Let's explore more about physics together!
You can use the role models of definite people as well.
Prompt: Write what physics is in the style of the Ernest Hemingway novels.
Output: Physics is the study of matter and energy. It is the force that drives the universe. It is the laws of motion that govern the movement of objects. It is the understanding of how things work and why they work that way. It is the science of the natural world, and it is the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. Physics is a way of life, a way of thinking, a way of understanding the world around us. It is the pursuit of knowledge, the quest for truth, and the search for meaning in a world that often seems chaotic and unpredictable. Physics is the essence of life itself, and it is the foundation upon which all other sciences are built.
As you can see, both physics definitions are correct, but the answer style is very different depending on the role model.
Different GPT models and using the context
@GPT4Telegrambot supports two different GPT-3.5 models that can understand and generate natural language or code.
- gpt-3.5-turbo is the most capable model in the GPT-3.5 family, which has been optimized for chat but works well for traditional completion tasks. Max token limit: 4,096.
- gpt-3.5-turbo-16k has the same capabilities but with a context length of 4 times larger, with a maximum token limit of 16,384.
Your prompt and generated output combined can't exceed the maximum token limit.
1 token is approximately 4 characters for English text and 1 character for other languages. You can use the 16k model for work with larger texts or when using more context.
By default, the bot remembers your previous question and its answer and uses context in the output. If you switch between different topics and don't need to use the previous context anymore, use the command /deletecontext.
Now it is your turn to create a prompt and see what GPT can do for you.
With the right prompt, the possibilities are endless, and the results can be truly remarkable.