Objective
What you're building
A portfolio of 5 real prompts you've used that produced mediocre output, rewritten using the techniques from Phases 0 and 1, with documented before/after comparisons.
This is not an exercise. These are real prompts from your real work, producing real improvement. By the end, you'll have a document you could show in a job interview, a client pitch, or a team presentation.
The process
For each of the 5 prompts:
Step 1: Find the original prompt
Look through your recent AI chats. Find prompts where the output was disappointing — too generic, wrong format, missed the point, needed heavy editing. These are your candidates.
Step 2: Diagnose what was wrong
Use the six-part anatomy (role, context, task, format, examples, constraints) and the 7-point specificity checklist (what, who, tone, length, include, avoid, context). Which parts were missing? What was vague?
Step 3: Rewrite the prompt
Apply the techniques from this phase:
- Add specificity (what, who, tone, length, include, avoid)
- Add context (the situation the AI needs to know)
- Add a role/persona if it helps
- Add few-shot examples if the task is repetitive
- Add a format instruction
- Use positive instructions instead of "don't" lists
Step 4: Run both prompts
Run the original and the rewritten version in the same AI tool. Save both outputs.
Step 5: Document the before/after
For each prompt, create a section with:
- Original prompt (what you typed)
- Original output (what the AI gave you)
- Diagnosis (what was missing — using the anatomy and checklist)
- Rewritten prompt (the new version)
- New output (what the AI gave you)
- What changed (2-3 sentences on the specific differences — not just "it's better")
Portfolio format
Organize your portfolio as a single document (markdown, Google Doc, or Notion page) with this structure:
# Prompt Makeover Portfolio
[Your Name]
### Makeover 1: [Task name]
### Original Prompt
...
### Original Output
...
### Diagnosis
Missing: context, format, specificity. The prompt had only the task — no audience, no format, no constraints.
### Rewritten Prompt
...
### New Output
...
### What Changed
The rewritten prompt added [X] and [Y], which changed the output from [specific problem] to [specific improvement].
### Makeover 2: [Task name]
...
(continue for all 5)
Choosing your 5 prompts
Pick prompts that cover different task types to show range:
- One writing task (email, blog post, social media)
- One analysis/research task (comparison, summary, extraction)
- One creative task (brainstorm, ideation, naming)
- One work-specific task (report, proposal, meeting notes)
- One repetitive task (something you do weekly — good candidate for few-shot)
What good looks like
A strong portfolio entry:
- Shows a clear, specific difference between the original and rewritten output
- Diagnoses the problem using the vocabulary from this course (not just "it was bad")
- Demonstrates at least 2-3 techniques (specificity + format, or persona + few-shot, etc.)
- The rewritten output is visibly, obviously better — not just slightly different
Why this matters
This portfolio is the foundation of everything that comes after. In Phase 9, you'll polish it into a presentation-ready artifact. But even now, it's proof — to yourself and to anyone else — that you can take a bad prompt and make it good. That's the skill.
Your practice rep (project)
Complete all 5 makeovers following the process above. Save the document. This is your first portfolio artifact.