LibGuides: AI (Artificial Intelligence): Advanced Prompting Techniques

Advanced Prompting Techniques

For users seeking to refine their prompting strategies here are advanced prompting techniques:

Advanced Prompting Techniques for Better AI Outputs
Technique	What it is	Why it works	Example
1. Role & Persona Stacking	Have the AI embody multiple expert roles at once.	Encourages more balanced, multi-perspective responses.	“Act as both a psychology lecturer and a high school counsellor to write a report on how social media affects teenagers’ mental health.”
2. Chain-of-Thought Prompting	Ask the AI to reason step by step before giving a final answer.	Improves accuracy and logical flow.	“Before summarizing, explain step by step how social media use impacts sleep, self-esteem, and anxiety in teens.”
3. Few-Shot Prompting	Give 2–3 examples of what a good response looks like.	Helps the AI mimic the style, structure, and depth you want.	“Here are two short paragraphs analysing research findings. Write a third paragraph in the same style on social comparison.”
4. Instruction + Constraints	Add clear limits (e.g., word count, sources, or style).	Reduces vague outputs and keeps the AI on target.	“Write a 500-word summary using studies published after 2018, and cite at least two credible sources.”
5. Self-Critique & Improve	Ask the AI to review its own answer, identify weaknesses, then rewrite.	Produces more polished, higher-quality results.	“Draft a 300-word conclusion. Now critique it for bias or missing viewpoints and rewrite it to be more balanced.”
6. Multi-Turn Prompting	Break big tasks into smaller, linked steps.	Gives you more control and detail.	“First, create an outline of 5 main points. Next, expand each point into a paragraph with evidence.”
7. Perspective Switching	Have the AI present multiple viewpoints.	Builds balanced, nuanced analysis.	“Write one paragraph on how social media can support teen mental health, and one on how it can harm it.”
8. Conditional Instructions	Include if-then guidance for special cases.	Helps the AI adapt to gaps or nuances.	“If there is limited evidence on certain platforms, note that and suggest areas for further study.”
9. Style Transfer	Ask the AI to rewrite text in a new style or for a new audience.	Lets you adapt content for different readers or formats.	“Rewrite this academic summary for a parent audience, using simple, clear language.”
10. Reflection / Meta-Prompting	Ask the AI to explain how it understood your prompt or why it structured the answer this way.	Helps you see how to refine your prompts for better results.	“After writing your summary, explain how you organized the main points and why you chose this order.”

Pro-tip:

These techniques can be combined to suit different tasks and contexts. For example: Role & Persona Stacking + Chain-of-Thought + Self-Critique:

Act as both a psychology lecturer and a high school counsellor to write a 300-wordon how social media affects teenagers’ mental health. Explain step by step how social media use impacts sleep, self-esteem, and anxiety in teens. Now critique it for bias or missing viewpoints and rewrite it to be more balanced.

Save your favorite prompt templates for similar assignments.

Experiment: try small tweaks and see which technique gives you the best output.

Include prompts in the appendix of your assignment for full transparency.