Role + Constraints to Kill Vagueness — Claude
When answers are generic, the fix is almost always more specificity, not a longer prompt.
The prompt
Act as a plain-language editor for a 10-year-old reader. Rewrite the paragraph below at a 5th-grade reading level, keep it under 80 words, and do not lose any factual detail. [PASTE]
What to replace
Swap these placeholders for your own details before running the prompt:
[PASTE]your own value
Pro tip: A precise role plus 2-3 hard constraints beats a long, vague paragraph almost every time.
How to use this prompt
- Copy the prompt using the button above.
- Replace [PASTE] with your own details — the more specific you are, the better the output.
- Paste it into Claude and run it.
- If the answer feels generic, add constraints: audience, length, tone, and what to avoid. That single change fixes most weak output.
Learn the technique
Role + Constraints to Kill Vagueness
Module 4 — Prompt Patterns That Fix Bad Output · Prompt Engineering Fundamentals
Related prompts
The 5-Part Prompt Framework — ChatGPT
Every strong prompt combines five parts: Role (who the AI should act as), Context (background info it needs), Task (the specific ask), Format (how you want the output structured), and Constraints (length, tone, things to avoid).
ClaudeThe 5-Part Prompt Framework — Claude
Every strong prompt combines five parts: Role (who the AI should act as), Context (background info it needs), Task (the specific ask), Format (how you want the output structured), and Constraints (length, tone, things to avoid).
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GrokZero-Shot vs Few-Shot Prompting — Grok
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ClaudeChain-of-Thought Prompting — Claude
Asking a model to "think step by step" before answering measurably improves accuracy on reasoning, math, and multi-step logic tasks because it forces the model to externalize intermediate steps instead of jumping to a guess..