Everyday AI · Module 2

Separate instructions from source material

Suggested time: 6 minutes.

The assistant needs to know which words describe the task and which words contain the facts for the task.

Instructions tell it what to do: “Write three bullets.” Source material gives it something to work from: “The room has been requested but not confirmed.” Background is useful when it changes the task, but extra unrelated detail can make the brief harder to follow.

Simple headings are enough. You do not need special syntax. Put your instructions first, then introduce a clearly labelled source section. For this exercise, “Source notes” and “End of source notes” make the boundary easy to see.

Worked source pack

Use these fictional notes for the examples in Lessons 2 to 5:

• W1: The invitation draft is complete. Coordinator approval is pending.
• W2: The room has been requested. Venue availability is not confirmed.
• W3: A practice session has been proposed. These notes give no session date.

An unclear mixture:

“Write a clear update invitation draft complete approval pending room requested unconfirmed tell the coordinator about the practice session no date three bullets.”

A clearer arrangement:

Task: Draft a workshop progress update. Audience and purpose: The coordinator needs to scan progress and unresolved items.

Source notes — fictional exercise W1: The invitation draft is complete. Coordinator approval is pending. W2: The room has been requested. Venue availability is not confirmed. W3: A practice session has been proposed. These notes give no session date. End of source notes

This is a starting brief, not the finished one. It separates the job from its evidence. It still needs rules about facts, missing information and output format.

Give the relevant context again when you need it

For this module, make each saved brief self-contained: include the current source pack and all the instructions required to use it. Do not rely on “use the details from before” in a document someone may use later.

If an existing chat contains old workshop notes or many conflicting edits, starting a fresh conversation with the complete current brief can make your test easier to inspect. A fresh conversation does not prove the output is accurate; it simply avoids depending on the earlier conversational exchange. You still check the response.

Quick pause: In the starting brief above, identify the exact words that say what to produce. Then identify where the factual input begins and ends.