Prompt Deconstruction Exercise
Break It Into Pieces
Before the model does anything else, it chops your prompt into pieces it can work with. Start by seeing your own prompt the way it does.
Paste it exactly as you typed it.
List the 3–5 words carrying the actual instruction. Everything else is filler the model has to work around.
Find The Near Neighbors
Similar words end up close together in the model's internal map. Test that against your own instincts before you assume it works the way you'd guess.
Not a synonym you looked up — your gut guess at what would land near it.
Label The Structure
Encoding is just giving structure an address. Tag your prompt with CO-STAR so you can see what's actually there, and what isn't.
Click a tag for reference, then write which part of your prompt (if any) covers it.
Predict Before You Run It
The model is always predicting the most likely next step. Practice doing the same before you see its answer.
Rewrite it with the missing CO-STAR element added.
One sentence — what will the output contain? Write this before you run the prompt.
Debrief
Here's everything you logged, pulled together in one place.
Your Prompt Deconstruction
Pick one recurring prompt you use weekly — a status update, a client email draft. Log it below each time you use it, along with the one CO-STAR element you added and what changed.
| Prompt | CO-STAR element added | What changed |
|---|---|---|