Give it work: tasks, limits, checking and feedback

An agent does its best work when you say what you want, where it must stop, and then check what it did.

Explanation

The four-step loop

1. Write a clear task. Say what you want, why you want it, and what "done" looks like. "Make a revision plan" is vague. "Make a three-evening plan for fractions, percentages and ratios, 20 minutes each, hardest topic first" is clear.
2. Set limits. Say what it may and may not do. Useful limits: "Show me the draft first." "Don't post anything." "Don't buy or order anything." "Ask before using any of my accounts." "If you're not sure, say so."
3. Check the result. Did it do what you asked? Is it true? Where did the facts come from? Did it stay inside your limits?
4. Give feedback and try again. Be specific: "Shorter, please, and put Tuesday first." Small changes work better than starting over.

Apex's free lesson Prompt structure: brief it like a colleague goes deeper on writing clear tasks.

Five starter tasks to copy

Swap the words in [brackets] for your own. Each one already has limits built in.

1. Explain one Apex lesson to me (any chat app, if you paste the text in)

Read the free Apex lesson "LLMs in plain words":
https://apexai.academy/lessons/1-llms-in-plain-words
(If you can't open web pages, tell me, and I'll paste the text in.)
Explain it to me in 5 short points, then ask me 2 questions to check I understood.
Don't sign up for anything or post anything.

2. Teach me an Apex lesson, one step at a time (needs an agent connected to Apex; see lesson 4)

Open Apex lesson 1, "LLMs in plain words", in the Agent view and teach it to me one idea at a time.
Wait for my answer before moving on.
Don't mark anything complete and don't post on the forum. Show me what you're about to do first.

3. Quiz me for a test (any chat app)

I have a test on [topic] on [day]. Ask me 5 questions, one at a time.
Let me try each one before you give the answer, then explain anything I got wrong in two sentences.
Don't write my homework for me.

4. Plan a week of meals (any chat app)

Plan 5 simple dinners for a family of [number] with a budget of [amount] for the week.
Ask me about allergies and foods we don't eat before you start. Don't guess them.
Give me a shopping list grouped by aisle. Don't order or buy anything.

5. Summarise something long (any chat app; paste the text in)

Summarise the text below in 5 bullet points for someone aged 14.
Then list anything you're not sure about or couldn't check.
Don't add facts that aren't in the text.

Text: [paste here]

Whether your app can open a web link depends on the app and sometimes on the plan. On free plans, OpenAI and Microsoft say ChatGPT and Copilot can search the web. The other apps' pages don't say which plans can, so check them. If it can't, paste the text in instead.

Try it

Pick starter task 1, 3 or 5 and run it. Then go through the check step: did it follow every limit? Give it one piece of specific feedback and see whether the second try is better.

Quiz

Q1. Which of these is a limit rather than part of the task?

• "Make a three-evening revision plan."
• "Show me the draft before you do anything else."
• "Put my hardest topic first."

Q2. Your agent's summary includes a date that wasn't in your text. What's the best next step?

• Keep it, because the agent probably knows more than the text.
• Ask where the date came from, and remind it not to add facts that aren't in the text.
• Start a brand-new chat and never use summaries again.

Q3. Which piece of feedback is most likely to improve the next try?

• "That's bad. Do better."
• "Try again."
• "Make it half as long and start with Tuesday."