A prompt is the input that you enter into an AI tool to generate results. A prompt may be a question, instructions, or a set of search keywords.

Designing effective prompts—also called prompt engineering—helps the AI tools to give you meaningful, accurate, and relevant results. Understanding the nuances of prompt creation and practicing good prompt design techniques are important components of AI literacy and this will help you generate more relevant and useful outputs.

Vague or generic questions are likely to generate vague or generic results. The CLEAR Framework is recommended in many universities to help get better results from your prompts.

• Concise
• Logical
• Explicit
• Adaptive
• Reflective

Be specific about the format of the output - number of words or paragraphs, writing style or tone, reading level, formatting such as bullet points, a table, etc.

Instruct the AI tool to take on an expert role: for example, 'act as a mathematician' or 'take on the role of a professional news blogger'. Prompting for alternative viewpoints can provide a more balanced response.

Specify primary sources of information. Provide the AI tool with examples or a reference text.

Provide context - giving background details helps the AI tool to tailor its responses to your needs. Split complex tasks into simpler sub-tasks. 

Refine your prompts - adjust your prompts based on the initial responses to ensure better accuracy.