# The 4-piece prompt checklist
From Hourwiz: https://hourwiz.com/v/prompt-xray

Before you hit send, check your prompt for these four pieces.
You don't need all four every time, but the more the AI has to guess, the more generic the answer.

1. ROLE: who is writing, and who it's for.
2. CONTEXT: the background the AI can't know (names, numbers, history, what you want to happen).
3. EXAMPLE: paste a line you wrote, or a sample of what good looks like.
4. FORMAT: the shape of the answer (subject line? bullets? length? one clear ask?).

## Example we wrote (fictional)

Before:
Write an email to my client about the invoice.

After:
You're a freelance brand designer writing to a long-term client.
Context: invoice #1042 for €850 was due 14 days ago. They've always paid on time, and I want to keep the relationship warm.
Match the tone of this line I wrote before: "Hope the launch went well! Quick admin note from my side."
Format: subject line first, under 90 words, one clear ask (pay by Friday or tell me a date), no apologies.

(Line 1 = ROLE, line 2 = CONTEXT, line 3 = EXAMPLE, line 4 = FORMAT.)

## Where the four pieces come from
- Anthropic, Prompting best practices: https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/claude-prompting-best-practices
- OpenAI, Prompt engineering: https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/prompt-engineering
- Google Workspace, Writing effective prompts: https://workspace.google.com/intl/en/resources/ai/writing-effective-prompts/
- Google, Gemini API prompt design strategies: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/prompting-strategies