ChatGPT prompt examples: six rough prompts, before and after

Before: Write an article about remote work.

After: You are an editor for a business magazine. Write an article about remote work for managers of small teams who are new to it. Open with one concrete problem, then give four practices with a short example each. About 700 words, plain language, no buzzwords. If something essential is missing, ask me one question first.

Before: Write an email asking for a deadline extension.

After: Write a short email to my manager asking to move the [project] deadline from [date] to [date]. Give one sentence of context, the reason, what will be done by the original date, and a clear ask. Polite and direct, under 120 words, no apologies beyond one.

Before: Fix my code.

After: You are a senior [language] developer. Find the bug in the code below. It should [expected behavior] but instead [what happens]. Explain the cause in two sentences, then give the corrected code with comments on the changed lines only. Do not rewrite parts that work. [paste code]

Before: A cat in a city.

After: Write an image prompt for: an orange tabby cat sitting on a rainy Tokyo street at night, neon signs reflected in puddles, shot from low angle, shallow depth of field, cinematic lighting, realistic photo style. Negative prompt: blurry, extra limbs, text, watermark.

Before: Make my resume better.

After: You are a hiring manager for [role]. Rewrite the resume bullets below so each starts with a strong verb and shows a result with a number where I give one. Keep each bullet to one line. Do not invent numbers or tools I did not list. Then tell me the two weakest bullets. [paste bullets]

Before: Explain photosynthesis.

After: Explain photosynthesis to a high school student who missed the class. Start with a one-sentence summary, then the steps as a numbered list, then a simple analogy. End with three quiz questions and their answers. Under 300 words.