The Five Components

A production prompt has five components: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, and Output Format. Each has a specific job. None of them is decoration. Not every prompt needs all five — but every omission is a deliberate decision, not an oversight. When you leave a component out, you have decided the model should infer that dimension from context. Make that decision consciously, not by accident.

1. Component 1: Role Who the model is in this interaction. "You are a senior technical writer with expertise in API documentation." Role sets the domain, register, and behavioral frame. It is not mandatory for simple tasks, but for anything requiring domain expertise or a specific voice, it is the first thing you write.
2. Component 2: Task What action the model must perform. Specific, imperative. "Write a three-paragraph executive summary" — not "can you summarize." The task statement is a specification of the deliverable, not a polite request. It should contain a verb that implies a specific output type.
3. Component 3: Context What background information changes how the task should be executed. This is the situation-specific input that makes a generic instruction relevant to your specific case. Include only information that changes behavior — every sentence of context has an attention cost.
4. Component 4: Constraints What the output must and must not include. Length, scope, audience, tone, exclusions. "In 200 words or fewer." "Without making product recommendations." "For an audience of non-technical executives." Constraints are the boundaries of the deliverable.
5. Component 5: Output Format Exactly what the output looks like. A bulleted list. A JSON object with specified keys. A table with defined columns. Three short paragraphs with specific headers. If the format matters to how you use the output — and it almost always does — specify it explicitly.

[ROLE]
You are a senior proposal writer with 15 years of experience in enterprise software consulting.

[TASK]
Draft a two-paragraph executive summary for the attached proposal.

[CONTEXT]
The proposal is for a $400K AI workflow automation engagement with a mid-market manufacturing company. The buyer's primary concern is implementation risk and timeline. The decision maker is a COO with a non-technical background.

[CONSTRAINTS]
- Maximum 150 words total
- Do not include pricing figures
- Do not use technical jargon
- Frame the primary value proposition around operational efficiency, not technology

[OUTPUT FORMAT]
Two paragraphs. Paragraph 1: current state problem. Paragraph 2: proposed solution and primary business outcome. No headers. No bullets.