Practice Challenges

Test your prompt engineering skills with these hands-on exercises. Each challenge builds on the concepts you've learned in Level 101.

Challenge 1: Email Writing

Scenario

You're a project manager who needs to inform your team about a schedule change. The project deadline has been moved up by one week due to client requirements.

Your Task

Write a prompt to generate a professional email that:

• Informs the team about the schedule change
• Explains the reason for the change
• Provides a new timeline
• Motivates the team to meet the new deadline
• Offers support and resources

Requirements

• Use the CLEAR framework
• Specify the tone and length
• Consider the audience (your development team)
• Include specific details about the project

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge 2: Content Creation

Scenario

You're a marketing manager for a SaaS company that sells project management software. You need to create a blog post about productivity tips for remote teams.

Your Task

Write a prompt to generate a blog post that:

• Targets remote team leaders and managers
• Provides actionable productivity tips
• Includes real-world examples
• Promotes your software subtly
• Encourages engagement

Requirements

• Use few-shot prompting with examples
• Specify the structure and length
• Define the target audience clearly
• Include SEO considerations

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge 3: Problem Solving

Scenario

You're a software developer working on a React application. You're encountering a performance issue where the app becomes slow when loading large datasets.

Your Task

Write a prompt to help you:

• Diagnose the performance issue
• Identify potential solutions
• Get code examples for optimization
• Understand best practices

Requirements

• Use chain-of-thought prompting
• Provide technical context
• Ask for step-by-step reasoning
• Request specific code examples

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge 4: Decision Making

Scenario

You're a startup founder trying to choose between two different pricing models for your SaaS product. You need to analyze the pros and cons of each approach.

Your Task

Write a prompt to help you:

• Analyze both pricing models objectively
• Consider different factors (revenue, customer acquisition, etc.)
• Get recommendations based on your specific situation
• Understand the long-term implications

Requirements

• Provide detailed context about your business
• Use structured analysis
• Consider multiple perspectives
• Ask for specific recommendations

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge 5: Creative Writing

Scenario

You're a content creator who needs to write a compelling product description for a new smart home device.

Your Task

Write a prompt to generate a product description that:

• Appeals to tech-savvy homeowners
• Highlights key features and benefits
• Uses persuasive language
• Includes social proof elements
• Has a clear call-to-action

Requirements

• Use one-shot prompting with an example
• Specify the target audience
• Include emotional triggers
• Focus on benefits over features

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge 6: Data Analysis

Scenario

You have a dataset of customer feedback and need to analyze sentiment trends to improve your product.

Your Task

Write a prompt to help you:

• Analyze the sentiment data
• Identify key trends and patterns
• Generate actionable insights
• Create recommendations for improvement

Requirements

• Use zero-shot prompting for analysis
• Specify the output format
• Ask for specific insights
• Request actionable recommendations

Solution Template

Example Solution

Challenge Solutions

How to Approach Each Challenge

1. Read the scenario carefully - Understand the context and requirements
2. Identify the key elements - What do you need to include in your prompt?
3. Choose the right technique - Zero-shot, one-shot, few-shot, or chain-of-thought?
4. Apply the CLEAR framework - Context, Length, Examples, Audience, Role
5. Test and iterate - Try your prompt and refine it based on results

Evaluation Criteria

For each challenge, evaluate your prompt on:

• ✅ Clarity: Is the request clear and specific?
• ✅ Context: Is there enough background information?
• ✅ Structure: Is the output format specified?
• ✅ Audience: Is the target audience considered?
• ✅ Technique: Is the appropriate prompting technique used?

Tips for Success

1. Start simple - Begin with basic prompts and add complexity
2. Be specific - Include details about format, length, and style
3. Provide examples - Use examples to guide the AI's output
4. Consider the audience - Think about who will use the output
5. Test thoroughly - Try different variations to see what works best

Advanced Challenges

These challenges build upon the foundational skills you've learned and introduce more complex prompt engineering techniques.

Challenge 7: Multi-Step Process

Create a prompt that guides the AI through a complex, multi-step process (e.g., planning a product launch, conducting user research).

Recommended Techniques: Chain-of-thought prompting, structured reasoning

Key Elements: Break down complex tasks into sequential steps, provide checkpoints, specify output format for each step

Challenge 8: Creative Problem Solving

Write a prompt that encourages the AI to think creatively about solving an unusual problem or creating an innovative solution.

Recommended Techniques: Few-shot prompting with creative examples, divergent thinking

Key Elements: Encourage multiple solution approaches, specify creativity constraints, request innovative perspectives

Challenge 9: Educational Content

Create a prompt for generating educational content that explains a complex concept to different audiences (beginner, intermediate, expert).

Recommended Techniques: One-shot prompting with audience-specific examples

Key Elements: Adapt complexity for each audience level, use appropriate analogies, maintain accuracy across all levels

Challenge 10: Interactive Dialogue

Design a prompt that creates an interactive conversation or Q&A session with the AI.

Recommended Techniques: Role-based prompting, conversation flow design

Key Elements: Define conversation boundaries, specify interaction style, plan for follow-up questions

Advanced Challenge Evaluation Criteria

For advanced challenges, also evaluate:

• ✅ Complexity Management: Is the multi-step process well-structured?
• ✅ Creativity Facilitation: Does the prompt encourage innovative thinking?
• ✅ Audience Adaptation: Is content appropriately tailored for different skill levels?
• ✅ Interaction Design: Is the conversation flow natural and engaging?
• ✅ Scalability: Can the prompt handle various scenarios and edge cases?

Next Steps

After completing these challenges:

1. Review your results - What worked well? What could be improved?
2. Practice regularly - Apply these techniques to your daily work
3. Share with others - Discuss your approaches with colleagues
4. Move to Level 201 - Ready for advanced techniques?

Start Level 201: Advanced Techniques →

Remember: The key to mastering prompt engineering is practice. Use these challenges as a starting point and create your own exercises based on your specific needs and interests!