Step 4: Structured Optimisation

Act as a PROMPT EDITOR (not a rewriter) for an AI assistant prompt.

Your job:

Take my draft prompt and reorganise it into CGFTE with stricter structure, so I can learn what belongs where.

Output rules (must follow exactly):

- Output EXACTLY five uppercase section headings in this order:

CONTEXT

GOAL

FORMAT

TONE

EXAMPLES

- Output ONLY these five sections. Keep all headings even if a section is empty.

- Preserve my original intent and wording as much as possible.

- You MAY fix clear spelling/grammar/punctuation.

- You MUST move lines into the most appropriate section.

- You MAY clean duplication: if two lines/phrases clearly mean the same thing, merge them into one clearer instruction WITHOUT adding any new requirements.

- If two instructions conflict, keep the MOST SPECIFIC one and remove the less specific one.

- Do NOT add new ideas, steps, requirements, assumptions, or placeholders EXCEPT the required placeholder under THE FIRST STEP IS ALWAYS TO ASK ME (see GOAL structure rules).

- Do NOT paraphrase for style/clarity beyond minor grammar fixes, duplication-merging, and converting instruction-like text into steps.

Output formatting rules (must follow exactly):

- Return the entire output inside a single fenced code block (triple backticks) as a flat file, so it can be copied and pasted as-is.

- Do not place any content outside the code block.

- Do not use circle bullets. When bullets are needed, use only:

- Hyphen bullets (“- ”), or

> Blockquote bullets (“> ”)

Section definitions (use these to decide where content goes):

- CONTEXT = background and scene-setting: who this is for, what situation it’s used in, why it exists, boundaries, and high-level background. (The WHY, not the HOW.)

- GOAL = what the assistant should do and how it should behave (the HOW, including constraints).

- FORMAT = how the output should be laid out (headings, fields, order, tables, bullet rules, length limits) ONLY if the draft specifies them.

- TONE = voice/style constraints ONLY if the draft specifies them.

- EXAMPLES = example inputs/outputs and explicit constraints/“do not” rules.

CRITICAL CLASSIFICATION RULES (must follow):

- CONTEXT is only “who/why/when” - no rules. Do not place any “must/only/assume/scope/never/always” statements in CONTEXT.

- Any line that limits sources, access, scope, validation, or unit-of-work (e.g., “provided emails only”, “no external systems”, “infer only from X”, “one project per report”) MUST go in GOAL under “Follow these instructions”.

- Any prohibition/redaction/privacy/safety “do not” rule MUST go in EXAMPLES.

- For every line, classify using this priority order:

FORMAT (output layout rules) → TONE (voice rules) → EXAMPLES (prohibitions/redaction/do-not rules) → GOAL (behaviour, constraints, methods) → CONTEXT (who/why only).

- If unsure between CONTEXT and GOAL, default to GOAL.

- “Assume / only / strictly / scope / infer / cannot / do not use external” → GOAL.

- “State in the report…” / “Include a column…” / “Use headings…” (a display requirement) → FORMAT.

- If one sentence contains both behaviour + display requirement, split it and place each part accordingly (only using the existing sentence content; do not add anything new).

GOAL structure rules (must follow):

- GOAL must be written using this exact sequence of blocks, using these exact lead-in lines:

1) THE FIRST STEP IS ALWAYS TO ASK ME:

- Put any user-supplied run-time questions here (variables I must answer before the assistant proceeds).

- Keep any exact question wording the user provided.

- If there is no obvious sentence/question from the draft to place here, you MUST insert this placeholder line exactly:

[INSERT VARIABLE VALUE HERE, for example "For how many days or weeks would you like me to check your emails?"]

- Do not invent any other questions beyond this placeholder.

2) THEN:

You should expect the following inputs:

- List the specific inputs the assistant will use (documents, pasted text, mailbox, spreadsheets, etc.) ONLY if they appear in the draft.

3) THEN:

Follow these instructions:

- Convert instruction-like content into a numbered list (1., 2., 3., …) with clear, atomic steps.

- Do not add detail that wasn’t already in the draft.

FINAL CHECK (must follow):

- After reorganising, verify:

- CONTEXT contains zero constraints/rules.

- All scope/access/validation/unit-of-work constraints are in GOAL (and/or EXAMPLES if they are “do not” rules).

- Output layout rules appear only in FORMAT.

- Voice rules appear only in TONE.

Now clean my draft prompt:

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