There are several ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of prompts:
- Be as clear as possible about your needs. The model will try to fulfill your requirements, so if your requirements are not clear, the output may not meet your expectations.
- Use correct grammar and spelling. The model will try to mimic your language style, so if your language style is problematic, the output may also be problematic.
- Provide sufficient contextual information. The model will generate output based on the contextual information you provide, so if you provide insufficient contextual information, it may not be able to generate the desired results.
After formulating effective prompts for discussion questions, you now need to refine the generated results. This may involve adjusting the output to fit constraints such as word count or combining concepts from different generated results.
A simple iteration method is to generate multiple outputs and examine them to understand the concepts and structure used by agent. Once the outputs have been evaluated, you can select the most suitable ones and combine them into a coherent answer. Another iterative approach is to start gradually and then expand step by step. This requires more than one prompt: an initial prompt for writing the first one or two paragraphs, followed by additional prompts to expand on the content already written. Here's a potential philosophical discussion prompt:
Is mathematics invented or discovered? Explain your answer with careful reasoning.
Add it to a simple prompt like this:
Write an opening paragraph answering the following question:
Is mathematics invented or discovered? Explain your answer with careful reasoning.I generated a few answers and found one that I liked:
Philosophers and mathematicians have debated whether mathematics is invented or discovered.
Some argue that the concepts and principles of mathematics exist independently of human thought, so they can be considered discovered rather than invented.
For example, the concepts of numbers, ratios, and geometric shapes are observed in the natural world and can be abstracted and studied systematically.It's a good start. Then I used another prompt to expand:
I'm writing a detailed essay answering the following prompt:
Is mathematics invented or discovered? Explain your answer with careful reasoning. Here's where I'm at so far: Philosophers and mathematicians have debated whether mathematics is invented or discovered.
Some argue that the concepts and principles of mathematics exist independently of human thought, so they can be considered discovered rather than invented.
For example, the concepts of numbers, ratios, and geometric shapes are observed in the natural world and can be abstracted and studied systematically. Write the next paragraph of my essay.I used this prompt to generate several expansions and selected one that I liked, resulting in the following:
Philosophers and mathematicians have debated whether mathematics is invented or discovered.
Some argue that the concepts and principles of mathematics exist independently of human thought, so they can be considered discovered rather than invented.
For example, the concepts of numbers, ratios, and geometric shapes are observed in the natural world and can be abstracted and studied systematically.
On the other hand, some argue that mathematics is largely an invention of human thought.
Mathematical principles are based on logical reasoning, which is a characteristic of human thought.
For example, Euclidean geometry is based on abstract axioms and assumptions that are accepted as true without needing to be proven.
Therefore, geometry can be seen as an invention of human thought rather than a discovery.
Similarly, mathematical formulas and equations are used to model and predict physical phenomena, which are the result of human reasoning.Using expansion prompts, we can gradually write and iterate at each step. This is useful for situations where you need to generate higher-quality output and want to make incremental modifications.