Keep Context Short, Structured, and Relevant
Unit ID: PAW-M03-U04 Estimated active time: 15-20 minutes
Long prompts are not strong prompts
It is tempting to solve a weak answer by adding more. More background, more examples, more caveats.
Past a point this makes things worse. Instructions compete, and the ones in the middle get least attention.
A short prompt with the right six facts beats a long one with thirty.
Structure beats volume
The same information laid out in labelled sections is easier for both a tool and a reviewer to use than the same information in a paragraph.
Compare:
> We're doing the beginner course again next term and last time quite a few people dropped out early on which the team thinks was the pacing, anyway we need something for the planning meeting, keep it short, and don't make up numbers.
with the three-part shape from the previous unit. Same content, and only one of them can be checked.
The trimming pass
Once a prompt works, trim it once.
TRIMMING PASS
For each line, ask:
1. Would a good answer change if I deleted this? no -> delete
2. Is this a fact the tool must not alter? yes -> move to KNOWN FACTS
3. Could a reader verify this was followed? no -> rewrite or delete
4. Is this repeated elsewhere in the prompt? yes -> delete oneA prompt that survives this is usually a third shorter and works the same or better.
Relevance is judged against the task
There is no such thing as generally relevant context. A fact is relevant to a task.
The learner's age matters for a reading-level decision and not for a room booking. The room number matters for the booking and not for the reading level.
This is why the context package is filled per task rather than kept as a standing block of text about your organisation.
When a prompt is genuinely long
Some tasks need a lot of input — comparing three documents, for instance.
That is fine. The rule is not "keep prompts short"; it is "keep everything in the prompt earning its place". A long source section with a short instruction section is a healthy shape. A long instruction section is usually a sign of an unsplit task.
Mini practice
Take your longest recent prompt and run the trimming pass over it.
Record how many lines you removed and whether the answer got worse. In most cases it will not.