AI Anatomy Class · Part 9 · The moment an answer is made

85. Prompts make sense once you know the structure

Q. Why does the answer change with how you ask, even when you ask for the same thing?

1. A prompt is the start of a text the model continues (chapter 1). Change it, and the next-piece odds change. So how you ask matters.
2. First, a role. Write 'a teacher for young kids' up front, and the easy words such a teacher would use become likely.
3. Second, examples. Show 'apple → fruit, carrot → vegetable' and the model continues the pattern: in-context learning (chapter 71).
4. Third, step by step. When it writes out the steps, they become input again (chapter 2), making the answer easier to get right.
5. Fourth, format. Give a template like 'Fruits: / Vegetables:' and words that fit it become most likely, shaping the answer.
6. None of these are magic spells. They just change the start to change the next-piece odds. Put in the information it needs, too.
7. That's Part 9! Choosing, temperature, cutting, the memory window, hallucinations and prompts. Next, we meet the AI after ChatGPT.

Chapter summary

• Prompt = the start of a text the model continues. Change the start, and the next-piece odds change.
• A role sets the tone and level, examples set a pattern, and a format sets the shape of the answer.
• Step by step: the steps it writes become input again, so the answer is easier to get right.