# Test one change at a time

AI Content Creation | Module 03: Write prompts you can improve

## Your goal

Improve a prompt using evidence from two drafts.

Keep the first prompt and its result. Identify a specific problem, such as a missing call to action. Change the instruction that addresses that problem and compare the new result with the first.

Use the same brief and output format for both attempts. If you change the audience, length, tone, and source at once, it becomes difficult to explain which change helped.

Record the tool and date when you use one. Outputs may vary between runs. A single better result is useful feedback, but it does not prove that your prompt will always work.

## Source pack

FICTIONAL PRACTICE BRIEF: Green Bench is a student repair club. It runs a free notebook-cover repair workshop on Saturday, 14:00 to 16:00, in Room B. There are 12 places. Learners bring one worn notebook; tools and scrap card are provided. Register using the club form. No date, form URL, access arrangements, impact figures, or testimonials have been supplied. Ask the organiser about missing details before publishing. This is a creative exercise, not a real event.

## Worked example

Compare a vague prompt with one revision that makes the next action clear.

### First attempt

Prompt: Write a workshop post. Sample result: Join our exciting repair session and discover creative possibilities.

### One change

Add this instruction: End with a request to register through the club form, without inventing the form URL.

### Comparison

The revised sample ends with Register through the club form. The reader now has a specific next action.

## Your work

Compare a vague prompt with one revision that makes the next action clear.

### First attempt

Write at least 8 words.


### One change

Write at least 8 words.


### Comparison

Write at least 8 words.

## Review your work

- [ ] I saved both attempts.
- [ ] I changed one important instruction.
- [ ] I explained the difference using text from the drafts.

Completeness checks do not assess creative quality or factual accuracy. Review the actual work yourself or with a mentor.

## Quiz

1. Why keep the source brief unchanged in a prompt comparison?
   A. So review becomes unnecessary.
   B. So the comparison is easier to interpret.
   C. So every output must be identical.

2. You change five prompt instructions and the result improves. What remains unclear?
   A. Which change caused the improvement.
   B. Whether the output contains any words.
   C. Whether both drafts used an assistant.

## Quiz explanations

1. B: A stable brief helps you judge the effect of the changed instruction.

2. A: Changing several variables makes the cause harder to identify.

## Further reading

[Anthropic: prompt engineering overview](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/overview)