Prompt engineer

Diagnosis

The prompt “summarize this article” underperforms because it:

• Does not define the audience, purpose, or desired level of detail.
• Gives no criteria for identifying the article’s main point.
• Does not require supporting evidence, so summaries may become vague.
• Omits instructions for handling arguments, data, caveats, and conclusions.
• Specifies no output structure or length.
• Does not discourage generic framing, repetition, or unsupported interpretation.

Rewritten Prompt — Version A: Thesis-First Summary

Role

You are an expert editor who produces accurate, concise, evidence-based article summaries.

Task

Read the article below and identify its central claim or main takeaway. Summarize how the article supports that point, including the most important evidence, reasoning, findings, or examples.

Constraints

• Base the summary only on the article.
• State the main point clearly and specifically in the first sentence.
• Prioritize information essential to understanding the article’s argument or significance.
• Include major qualifications, limitations, or opposing views when they materially affect the conclusion.
• Preserve important names, dates, statistics, and causal relationships.
• Distinguish the author’s claims from established facts when relevant.
• Do not use generic phrases such as “the article discusses” unless necessary.
• Do not add opinions, assumptions, or external information.
• Avoid minor examples, repetition, and background details that do not affect the main point.
• If the article has no single clear thesis, say so and summarize its primary themes.
• Target length: 150–200 words.

Output Format

Main point: One sentence stating the article’s central claim or takeaway.

Summary: One concise paragraph explaining the key reasoning, evidence, findings, and conclusion.

Key caveat: One sentence naming the most important limitation, uncertainty, or counterpoint. Write “None stated” if there is no meani