TPEE Toptronic® Prompt Engineering Editor

68. Getting Started - Best Practices Checklist

A concise checklist to follow for every prompt as a new user.

By Jacques Botte, founder of Toptronic®. Last updated 12 September 2026.

The lesson

Before writing: Define your goal clearly. What do you want the AI to produce? What will you do with the output?

Checklist for every prompt:

[ ] Persona selected: Does the AI know what expert role to adopt?

[ ] Instructions specific: Can someone else understand exactly what to do?

[ ] Context provided: Does the AI know the situation and constraints?

[ ] Data included: Are the facts, text, or examples the AI needs present?

[ ] Format specified: Will the output be in the right structure?

[ ] Technical specs set: For code, are language version and constraints noted?

[ ] Tone appropriate: Is the voice right for the audience?

[ ] Preview checked: Did you review the prompt before exporting?

[ ] Model appropriate: Is the selected AI model suitable for this task?

Save this checklist. Use it for your first 20 prompts. It will become automatic.

Check yourself

Question 1: What should you do BEFORE writing a prompt?
  1. Close TPEE
  2. Define your goal clearly - what do you want the AI to produce? — correct
  3. Delete all sections
  4. Call a friend

Answer: Define your goal clearly - what do you want the AI to produce?

Knowing your goal before you start helps you select the right persona, include necessary context, and specify the correct format.

Question 2: Which of these is NOT on the best practices checklist?
  1. Persona selected
  2. Weather checked — correct
  3. Format specified
  4. Model appropriate

Answer: Weather checked

Weather is irrelevant to prompt quality. The checklist includes persona, instructions, context, data, format, technical specs, tone, preview, and model selection.

Question 3: How many times should you use the checklist before it becomes automatic?
  1. Never
  2. About 20 times — correct
  3. Once
  4. 1000 times

Answer: About 20 times

Using the checklist consistently for your first 20 prompts builds habit. After that, the steps become natural and automatic.

← Previous lesson · All 83 lessons · Next lesson →

The full course — 83 lessons and 249 quiz questions — ships inside the app. Get TPEE to study it offline.