Building Your Prompt Library: Five to Eight Documented Prompts

A prompt that lives only in a chat history is easily lost. A documented prompt, with its goal, its input, its expected output and its limits, becomes a real tool that you or a colleague can pick up months later. In this lesson you will build five to eight such prompts for your three tasks, using a simple documentation template and everything you have learned in the course.

In the last lesson you defined your scope: three tasks, success criteria and risks. Now you write the actual prompts. Keep your scope document next to you, because every prompt should serve one of those tasks and respect the risks you identified.

The documentation template

For each prompt, fill in these fields. They may seem like a lot, but each one answers a question you will have later.

Field	What to write
Name	A short, descriptive title
Objective	What it does and when to use it, in one or two sentences
Expected input	What you must provide, in what form, and what must never be provided
Prompt	The full text, with variable parts in square brackets
Expected output	Format, length, tone, with a short example if useful
Limits and checks	Known weaknesses, what to verify, how much effort it deserves
Version and tool	Version number, date, the tool and settings used, and a one-line change log

The objective, input, output and limits are the four fields that the project asks for. The version field is what lets you improve a prompt without losing track of what changed.

How many prompts, and which?

Aim for five to eight prompts. With three tasks, a good mix is:

• One to two prompts per task, covering the main use and, if useful, a variation (a shorter version, a different audience).
• One or two general-purpose prompts that support all tasks, such as "proofread and polish," "ask me clarifying questions first," or "check this text against my checklist."
• At least one prompt that uses a pattern from chapter 3: critique-then-improve, a chain, or a clarifying-questions opening.
• At least one prompt with a built-in verification, such as supporting quotes or a "not stated" rule.

A prompt-writing checklist

Before you save a prompt, check it against the points you learned:

1. Does it give a role, context, task, format and constraints, as far as the task needs?
2. Is there one main task, with a precise verb?
3. Does it contain a rule for missing information ("write 'not mentioned'")?
4. Does it limit the model to the provided material when facts matter?
5. Does it control length and tone with concrete wording or a sample?
6. Are the variable parts clearly marked and easy to replace?
7. Does it keep sensitive data out, using placeholders?
8. Does the output include something that makes checking easy (quotes, a change list, a reason)?

Worked example 1: a task prompt

NAME
Meeting notes to action items

OBJECTIVE
Turn rough meeting notes into a clear list of actions, ready to
send to the team. Use after each weekly meeting.

EXPECTED INPUT
Typed notes (200 to 600 words). Replace real surnames by first names
or initials. Never paste confidential figures or client data.

PROMPT
Role: You are an organized project assistant.
Context: The notes below come from a team meeting. They are rough
and may be incomplete. The reader is the team.
Task: Extract the action items.
Format: A list, one line per action: Who - What - By when.
Maximum 10 lines. Then a section "Open questions" with at most
3 items.
Constraints: Use only the notes. If an owner or a deadline is
missing, write "to be defined"; never guess. Do not add actions
that are not in the notes. Neutral, concise tone.

Notes:
[paste your notes here]

EXPECTED OUTPUT
A short list in the format above, and 0 to 3 open questions.

LIMITS AND CHECKS
May merge two actions into one or miss an implied action.
Compare the list with the notes before sending. Medium stakes.

VERSION AND TOOL
v2, [date]. Tested in a general chat assistant.
Change log: v2 added the rule for missing owners and deadlines.

Worked example 2: a general-purpose prompt using a pattern

NAME
Clarify first, then draft

OBJECTIVE
Avoid generic drafts when my brief is incomplete. Use at the start
of any writing task longer than a few lines.

EXPECTED INPUT
A short description of what I need to write (no personal data).

PROMPT
I need help writing: [one-sentence description].
Before writing anything, ask me up to five questions about the
audience, the goal, the tone and any constraints. Ask them in one
numbered list and wait for my answers.
After I answer, write one draft of at most [length] words. Then list
the assumptions you made, so I can correct them.

EXPECTED OUTPUT
First: up to five questions. Then, after my reply: one draft plus
a list of assumptions.

LIMITS AND CHECKS
Sometimes asks obvious questions; skip them by answering briefly.
The draft still needs fact-checking and personalization.

VERSION AND TOOL
v1, [date]. Tested in a general chat assistant.

Writing process: a rhythm that works

1. Draft the prompt using the five ingredients.
2. Run it once on a realistic invented input. Do not judge yet; just observe.
3. Adjust the obvious problems (format, length, a missing rule) in one or two rounds.
4. Document using the template, with a first honest list of limits.
5. Move on. Formal testing comes in the next lesson; do not polish forever now.

Organizing the library

• Where: a single document, a spreadsheet (one row per prompt, columns for the fields) or a notes app. Choose what you will actually open.
• Naming: start names with the task type: "Write - Payment reminder," "Summarize - Article for reading list," "Learn - Quiz me."
• Placeholders: always use square brackets and describe what goes inside, for example [notes: 200-600 words, anonymized].
• Privacy: no real personal or confidential data in the library itself.
• Backups: keep a copy, since a prompt library is a small but real asset.

Your turn: write five to eight prompts

Exercise. Using your scope document, write and document five to eight prompts with the template: at least one per task, at least one general-purpose prompt, one using a chapter 3 pattern and one with built-in verification. Run each one at least once on an invented or anonymized input, and keep the output.

See a solution

For the freelancer in the previous lesson, a possible set of seven prompts:

1. Write - Payment reminder (task A).
2. Write - Payment reminder, firmer second notice (variation of A).
3. Rewrite - Proposal paragraph for a non-expert (task B).
4. Check - Compare rewritten paragraph with original and list changes in meaning (task B, verification).
5. Plan - Weekly plan table from my task list (task C).
6. General - Clarify first, then draft (pattern: clarifying questions).
7. General - Proofread and polish, with a before-and-after list of changes.

Every entry has the seven fields. For example, prompt 4 is documented with: objective "make sure a rewrite did not change commitments," input "original and rewritten paragraphs, with names removed," output "table of differences in meaning," limits "may miss subtle changes; read both versions myself for anything about prices or deadlines." The pair 3 and 4 also forms a small prompt chain.