Universal Prompt Framework
For any task, and any AI
ChatGPT and other AIs understand natural language. But like humans, how you structure your communication changes the output. The same request produces radically different results on how it’s worded.
RAF(ACE) is a framework that works across AIs and requests to produce reliably high quality output.
RAF(ACE) stands for: Role, Action, Format, Abilities, Context, Examples.
The first three are essential, while the second three are optional. They enhance the quality of the output, but you can get quality output even without them.
You can download the image below and use it as desktop wallpaper to remember the Universal Prompt Framework
Let’s take the task of writing a blog post about prompt frameworks. Disclaimer: this post was not written this way.
The essentials
Role
define the role of the GPT. This role should be one that produces the results that you want for your request.
Example: Role: you are an expert copyrighter OR you are a world-renown journalist
By telling it what its role is, the output changes. Remember that the GPT is predicting the next word in the sequence. This prediction is different depending on the role. If it tries to predict then next word written by a copyrighter it’s different than the next word written by a random person, and so on. By assigning a role, we direct the style, content and quality of the output.
Action
Describe what you want to the GPT to do.
Action: write a blog post on prompt frameworks. This can work, but it’s better to give it more details and specifics. Like so:
Action: write a blog post exploring the benefits produced by the top 5 most used prompt frameworks
The more specific you write the action, the closer the result will be to what you want. If you describe a generic action, you will get generic output. This is where most people fail with ChatGPT. They write generic requests and expect specific high-quality output. But it never happens.
ChatGPT is trained on a lot of content. By default most of it will be mediocre and bland. So if your request is generic, you will get mediocre and bland output.
Format
This is important. Specify how you want the GPT to format the response. This includes things like length, style, wording constraints.
Format: 1000 words, informal professional style, 6h grade readability level
The sharp-eyed will note that Format is in fact a part of Action. It’s part of what we request. However it is helpful to separate it.
Think of Action as the ‘Substance’ of what you want, and the Format as the ‘Style’. Defining a clear specific style will get us high quality results. Not defining it produces mediocre and bland writing.
Just by defining format, your AI output will be better than 90% of what is out there.
The optionals
Abilities:
Abilities: you are an expert in writing a precise and captivating style, with occasional metaphors
To make the results even better, it helps to tell the GPT what skills you want it to have. This refines the Role aspect. By specifying the skills, you increase the likelihood that ChatGPT’s output will use these skills.
Of course, it’s not a magic bullet. You cannot tell ChatGPT it has the skills of a genius physician and expect it to develop a unified field theory.
Context
Provide context about the task.
Context: you are a new substack, which tries to differentiate among many newsletters on A.I.
This improves the quality of the output. It is less important than the previous, but it can result in sophisticated nuances in the output. Also it can lead ChatGPT to find insights that otherwise would remain hidden.
Examples
If possible, provide examples on the type of output you want. You can either upload these as files, or copy-paste.
Often it’s not possible to have examples. That’s ok. When you do have examples, it helps a lot to use them as input. After all, the A.I. learns by example.
For example for examples, if you want to write an article, you could provide articles that you appreciate as examples.
Tasty AI Bites
MyMemo: This AI-improvement tool provides knowledge management. It organizes your scattered digital content into an accessible, intuitive platform. I am currently testing it, will come back with more on it
PrometAI: An AI Business Plan Generator to make business blueprints and help startups.
Google Image Generator: results are pretty good and interface is different in a way that enhances creativity (only in U.S. for now)
AI Tool Report: database of AI tools
60 sec site: create a website in 60 seconds using AI
Prompts of the day
With RAF(ACE)
1. Improve website conversion
Role: SEO specialist, Action: effective strategies to convert more visitors into customers on my landing page, Format: 500 words, actionable practical advice only, Abilities: you are an expert in SEO, performance marketing, digital conversion, digital marketing, Context: I have a recently launched landing page for my small business, but it is not converting almost any visitor into customers
2. Make ChatGPT writing more
Write at a Flesch reading score of 80 or higher
This will make it produce output for 6th grade level. It might sound bad, but simple writing style is much stronger in keeping reader attention and engagement
3. Refine academic thesis
Assume the role of a thesis advisor with a specialization in academic writing. Your action is to refine and enhance a student's thesis statement for their academic paper. The thesis statement provided by the student is: "[INITIAL THESIS STATEMENT]." Your goal is to critique this initial thesis statement for clarity, specificity, and academic rigor. Context: provide constructive feedback on how to make the thesis more concise, focused, and argumentative. Suggest ways to incorporate a clear stance, significant research questions, and the potential implications of the research. Format: ensure the refined thesis statement is well-defined, debatable, and sets a solid foundation for an interesting argument in their academic paper.
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