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Module 1: Prompting that works

Anatomy of a good prompt

20 minutes. Last checked 7 November 2026.

Lesson 1 of 7 in this module

Everything in this lesson is fictional: the practice (Harlow & Penn Accountants), the clients and the file notes. Do not paste real client data to follow along.

What you will do

Turn a one-line request into a prompt that gives you a usable records-chase email the first time.

When to use it

When a client's records are late and you need to chase them. This replaces typing a one-line request and then rewriting the vague draft by hand, or writing each chase from scratch.

On your next working day, try it on one real chase:

  1. Pick one client whose records are late, and copy their file note.
  2. Anonymise the file note so the client cannot be identified, or use a tool not made for public use. To anonymise it, take out the name and any other detail that could point to the client, such as their address, their trading name, their bank details or an unusual service they are known for. Removing the client's name may not be enough: an unusual detail may still identify them.
  3. Paste the good prompt below with the anonymised file note, and check the draft (see "What to check").
  4. Put the client's name back yourself, outside the AI tool, and send the email.
  5. Save the prompt for the next chase (lesson 1.7 shows how).

The prompt

Weak version: the prompt most people write

Weak version

Write an email asking a client for their tax return documents.

It gives the model nothing to go on. It has to guess the client, the tax year, the records and the deadline, so expect a draft that is vague about what you need and may not mention the date. Fixing that can take longer than writing it yourself.

Good version

Prompt parts:

  • Role
  • Context
  • Task
  • Inputs
  • Constraints
  • Format
  • Questions first

  1. Part 1. Role: You are helping a small UK accountancy practice write to its clients. Write in plain British English, friendly but direct, as the client's accountant.

  2. Part 2. Context: The client is a sole trader (a self-employed electrician) whose 2025-26 Self Assessment online return is due by 31 January 2027. The 2025-26 tax year ran from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026. We have not yet received their records. This is our first reminder.

  3. Part 3. Task: Write a reminder email asking for their records.

  4. Part 4. Inputs: The records we need are in the file note below.

  5. Part 5. Constraints: Under 150 words. Ask them to send everything by 30 November 2026 so we have time to prepare the return. Mention that HMRC charges an initial £100 penalty if the return is filed late. Do not give any other tax advice. Do not use exclamation marks.

  6. Part 6. Format: A subject line, then the email, then a three-item checklist they can tick off.

  7. Part 7. Questions first: If anything you need to write this well is missing, ask me before writing.

[paste the file note here]

Why this prompt works

PartWhat it does
Role ("small UK accountancy practice... plain British English")Sets who is speaking, and asks for plain British English in the tone you want
Context (client type, tax year, deadline, first reminder)The model cannot know your situation. Every fact you leave out, it guesses
Task (one clear job)One prompt, one job. Mixed requests give mixed results
Inputs (the file note with the exact list of records)The quality of the output is capped by the quality of the facts you give it
Constraints (length, date, the one penalty fact, no other advice)This is where your professional judgement goes. It keeps the email short and keeps the AI out of advice
Format (subject, email, checklist)You get something ready to send, not something to rearrange
Questions first ("ask me before writing")When a fact is missing, it asks you instead of guessing

The client is described ("a self-employed electrician"), not named, and the file note holds nothing else that could identify them. That is the anonymise-first habit, which lesson 1.2 teaches. With a real file note, removing the client's name may not be enough: an unusual detail, such as an uncommon service they are known for, may still identify them. So take out anything that could identify the client, or use a tool not made for public use. The draft does not need the name, and you add it back before sending (see "What to check").

Sample input

Paste this under the prompt, in place of "[paste the file note here]".

Sample input

FICTIONAL SAMPLE FOR COURSE PRACTICE. Not a real client.
Harlow & Penn Accountants, file note, anonymised before pasting
Client: sole trader, self-employed electrician
Return: 2025-26 Self Assessment, filed online
Records received so far: none
Records needed:
- income records for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026
- business bank statements for the same period
- receipts for any van or tool purchases over £500
- details of any other income
Reminder: first

Example output

Example output. Yours will differ in wording.

(Fictional, written for this course.)

Subject: Your 2025-26 tax return: records needed by 30 November

Hello,

We are getting ready to prepare your Self Assessment tax return for the 2025-26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), and we have not yet received your records.

Please send us the following by 30 November 2026, so we have time to prepare the return before the 31 January 2027 online filing deadline:

  • income records for the tax year
  • business bank statements for the same period
  • receipts for any van or tool purchases over £500
  • details of any other income

If a return is filed late, HMRC charges an initial £100 penalty.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
Harlow & Penn Accountants

Checklist

  • Income records and business bank statements for the tax year
  • Receipts for van or tool purchases over £500
  • Details of any other income

What to check

  • The deadline and the penalty against gov.uk. Confirm the online filing deadline on gov.uk's Self Assessment deadlines page (https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines) and the penalty on its penalties page (https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/penalties). The £100 is the initial penalty; gov.uk lists further penalties after 3, 6 and 12 months, so the email must not call £100 the whole cost.
  • The dates you supplied. Confirm it has not changed the tax year dates, the 31 January deadline or your own 30 November date.
  • Nothing you did not ask for. No advice it was not asked to give (for example, nothing on payments on account), and no records added to the list that you never asked for.
  • Tone. Would you send this to your firmest client and your most anxious one?
  • The client's details, put back by you. The prompt left the name out, so the email opens "Hello,". Once the email is checked, add the client's name to the greeting yourself, and any other detail you took out that the email needs, outside the AI tool, before you send it.
  • The checklist. Three items, and together they cover every record in the file note.

Variations

  1. Second reminder. Change "This is our first reminder" to "This is our second reminder. The first went on [date]", and add "Be firmer about the date, but stay polite."
  2. One item still missing. Replace the file note with the one record still outstanding, and change the format to "the email only, no checklist".
  3. A client who prefers texts. Change the format to "a text message under 300 characters, with no subject line and no checklist".

Try it

About 10 minutes. Rewrite the good prompt for a different job: a reminder to Brightwater Joinery Ltd (a fictional limited company client of Harlow & Penn) whose year-end records you need to prepare its annual accounts for Companies House. Change the context, the inputs, the deadline and the penalty fact, and keep everything else. Leave the company's name out of the prompt. The £100 penalty in the good prompt is for a late Self Assessment return, so it does not belong in a reminder about company accounts.

Fictional file note to use:

Sample input

FICTIONAL SAMPLE FOR COURSE PRACTICE. Not a real client.
Harlow & Penn Accountants, file note, anonymised before pasting
Client: small joinery company, limited company
Job: year-end accounts for Companies House
Records received so far: none
Records needed:
- business bank statements for the financial year
- sales and purchase invoices
- a stock count at the year end
Reminder: first

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