Step 6: Update the client in the firm's voice
Technique One example, with rationale
One canonical example plus a rationale (few-shot done properly), with positive style instructions instead of a persona and instead of a list of don'ts
The brief
Learning objective
Steer tone and structure with a single delimited exemplar and a rationale that says what to copy and what not to copy, supply the substance separately, and phrase style rules as what to do with a concrete length ceiling, so the model reproduces the house style without importing the example's facts.
Scenario
The CFO needs a short holding email today: where things stand and what to do this week, before the full memo. Your firm has a distinctive house style for client emails (answer first, plain words, one action, one short caveat). You have a prior email in that style with names changed. A colleague's attempt with five 'don't' rules ('don't use bullets, don't be long, don't hedge, no jargon, no disclaimer') came back at 500 words with bullets and three paragraphs of caveats. Models copy examples closely, including their facts, so the prompt has to say what the example is for.
Your task
Write the prompt that drafts the client update email. Include the exemplar, a rationale that tells the model which features of the exemplar to reproduce and which to ignore, the points to convey, the audience and deadline, and positive instructions for length and style (each of the colleague's don'ts converted into a do). Do not write the email yourself.
Materials
What you have on file
EXEMPLAR (from a prior client email in the firm's house style; names changed): 'Dear Marcus, Short answer: you can terminate, but only if the notice goes out by Friday and in the form the contract requires. The contract lets either side end it on 90 days' notice, and your email of 3 May does not count because clause 21 requires notice by courier to the registered office. We recommend sending a courier notice today; we have drafted it and attach it for signature. One caveat: if the supplier disputes receipt we would need the courier's proof of delivery, so please keep it. Happy to discuss on a call this afternoon. Best regards, Lena' POINTS TO CONVEY to the CFO of Brackwater Foods (not a lawyer); decision needed before the board meeting on 20 September: - The landlord says the emailed break notice is invalid and that the break is conditional on repair; it claims 480,000. - Our preliminary view: validity of the email notice is genuinely uncertain and turns on clause 19.1 and the applicable law; the repair claim looks overstated but needs a surveyor. - Actions: (1) instruct an independent building surveyor this week; (2) no contact with the landlord or its asset manager about the dispute; (3) preserve the 28 May email chain and the April service records. - We will send a full memo before 18 September.
Paste these into your prompt where the task calls for it, or refer to them with a placeholder such as [paste lease extract]. When you run a prompt that uses a placeholder, the Lab appends the materials so the model has something to work on. Where the task asks you to paste an edited copy, nothing is appended: what you paste is what runs.
How you will be graded
Rubric (100 points)
The grader scores your prompt, not the output. Length and formatting earn nothing; a short prompt that hits every criterion beats a long one that misses one.
| Criterion | Pts | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Includes the exemplar in a clearly delimited container labelled as an example | 20 | <example>...</example> or 'EXAMPLE OF HOUSE STYLE:' with a visible end marker; the example is not run into the instructions. |
| Provides a rationale stating which features to reproduce (answer-first, plain language, one action, one short caveat, offer to talk) and which to ignore (facts, names, dates, clause numbers) | 25 | An explicit sentence or two explaining why the example is there and a matching instruction that every fact must come from the points supplied. |
| Supplies the substantive points, the audience (non-lawyer CFO) and the purpose/deadline in their own section | 20 | Points to convey in a separate container; audience and 20 September board deadline stated so the model can pitch register and urgency. |
| Style and length instructions are phrased positively with a concrete ceiling that fits the content and a rule for caveats | 20 | 'Flowing prose, under 220 words, caveats one sentence each, first person plural, output only the email text'; not a list of prohibitions; the ceiling leaves room for four points, a caveat and a call proposal. |
| No persona inflation and no instruction that contradicts the example | 15 | At most a one-line perspective ('email from me, the associate'); the requested format matches the example's format (prose email), so the model is not told to bullet-point while being shown prose. |
Hints
Stuck? Open one at a time.
Hint 1
Put the exemplar in its own labelled container and add a rationale: 'copy the structure, tone and sentence length; do not copy any fact, name, date or clause number'. Keep the substance in a separate container so the model cannot blend them.Hint 2
Convert each don't into a do: 'don't use bullets' becomes 'write three short prose paragraphs'; 'don't be long' becomes 'under 220 words'; 'don't hedge' becomes 'state our view in one sentence and its uncertainty in one sentence'; 'no jargon' becomes 'use the words a CFO uses'; 'no disclaimer' becomes 'end with a proposed call time'.Hint 3
Check the ceiling fits the content: four points, one caveat and a call proposal do not fit in 80 words.
Your prompt