{"id":6656,"date":"2026-01-14T12:28:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/?p=6656"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:50:41","slug":"guia-prompt-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/guia-prompt-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Prompt Engineering Guide: How to Create Effective Prompts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#039;ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, or another AI before, you&#039;ve probably experienced this: you ask a question and the answer is\u2026 <em>strange<\/em>. Neither entirely bad, nor truly useful. And that&#039;s where the doubt arises: <strong>Is AI useless, or am I asking the wrong question?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spoiler alert: it&#039;s almost always the latter. This is where the key concept of this article comes into play: <strong>the prompt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a prompt in AI?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A prompt is <strong>the instruction you give to artificial intelligence<\/strong> to generate a response. It can be a short sentence, a long paragraph, a direct question, or a combination of context and task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference between a regular one and a powerful one lies in <strong>how do you phrase it?<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-maxymia wp-block-embed-maxymia\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"wVBI4dp4cc\"><a href=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/que-es-un-prompt-clave-para-comunicarte-con-la-ia\/\">What is a prompt? The key to communicating with AI<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u00ab&quot;What is a prompt? The key to communicating with AI&quot; \u2014 Maxymia\" src=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/que-es-un-prompt-clave-para-comunicarte-con-la-ia\/embed\/#?secret=C4eqvkR3ft#?secret=wVBI4dp4cc\" data-secret=\"wVBI4dp4cc\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why most prompts fail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#039;s an important truth: <strong>AI doesn&#039;t &quot;make mistakes&quot;, it interprets what you give it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the prompt is ambiguous, the response will be ambiguous.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you don&#039;t define the objective, the AI improvises.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you ask for &quot;a little bit of everything&quot;, you&#039;ll get... a little bit of nothing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#039;s why two people can use the same tool and get completely different results. The key isn&#039;t in the AI, but in... <strong>the quality of the prompt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Structure for a good prompt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Without getting too technical, a good prompt usually has four basic ingredients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Role<\/strong>From what perspective should it respond?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Context<\/strong>Why do you need the information?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Instruction<\/strong>What exactly should you do?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Format<\/strong>How do you want the result?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#039;t always need all of them, but the more complex the task, the more important this structure becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of the prompt as an experiment: if the design is well thought out, the results will be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-maxymia wp-block-embed-maxymia\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EjpqGZdR6Z\"><a href=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/estructura-para-un-buen-prompt\/\">Structure in a prompt: How to organize your questions to AI<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u00ab&quot;Structure in a prompt: How to organize your questions to AI&quot; \u2014 Maxymia\" src=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/estructura-para-un-buen-prompt\/embed\/#?secret=Hpttvjvhrs#?secret=EjpqGZdR6Z\" data-secret=\"EjpqGZdR6Z\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prompt templates you can use today (by profile)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are practical examples adapted to scientific and professional profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Research \u2013 Literature Review<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I work as a researcher in [discipline]. I need a synthetic review on [specific topic], focusing on studies published in the last 5 years. Summarize the main approaches, key results, and methodological limitations. Include suggested references to verify the information and clarify when something is an estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Teaching \u2013 Structured lesson plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Act as a university lecturer for [subject]. Design a 90-minute lesson plan on [topic] for [undergraduate\/master&#039;s] level students. Include learning objectives, a timeline, a practical activity, and assessment criteria. Present it in table format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here you are already guiding the format, level and actual use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Analysis \u2013 Create operational checklist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Analyze the following procedure and create an operational checklist to detect common errors. Organize your response in a table with the following columns: Step, Risk, Failure Indicator, Corrective Action. If any data is missing, indicate this explicitly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This turns AI into a methodological assistant, not a generator of pretty text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Scientific writing \u2013 Critical summary of paper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Summarize the following scientific article in 250 words. Include: objective, methodology, main results, and limitations. Point out any possible biases or implicit assumptions. Do not invent data that does not appear in the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That last line is a key guardrail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Improvement of technical text<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewrite this text to make it clearer and more precise, while maintaining scientific rigor. Reduce ambiguities and avoid absolute statements without evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ideal for articles or reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Hypothesis generation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on these preliminary results, generate three plausible alternative hypotheses. Explain the assumptions of each and what experiment would validate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is already assisted structured thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Guardrails: how to avoid unreliable answers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Very important: AI can generate incorrect information with a high degree of certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always add instructions such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cInclude sources or indicate if you are unsure.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cSeparate facts from hypotheses.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cList implicit assumptions.\u201d<br>\u201c&quot;It indicates limitations of the analysis.&quot;\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cDon\u2019t make up references.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And then, verify. AI helps you think faster, but the final responsibility remains yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In science and professional work, this is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common mistakes when writing prompts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some very common mistakes (and totally normal when starting out):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Asking vague questions: \u201cTell me about\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not indicate what the answer will be used for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expecting AI to &quot;guess&quot; the technical level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Asking for too many things in one sentence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not review or improve the prompt after the first response<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that <strong>All these errors are easily corrected<\/strong> with a little practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-maxymia wp-block-embed-maxymia\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"TxiBenRcdM\"><a href=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/errores-al-escribir-prompts-y-como-evitarlos\/\">Errors when writing prompts in AI<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u00ab&quot;Mistakes when writing prompts in AI&quot; \u2014 Maxymia\" src=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/errores-al-escribir-prompts-y-como-evitarlos\/embed\/#?secret=cNYcd0i5H1#?secret=TxiBenRcdM\" data-secret=\"TxiBenRcdM\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to improve your prompts step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first prompt is almost never the final one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Practical process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Write a clear first draft.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evaluate the response.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adjust: add restrictions, change format, limit scope.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The improvement is incremental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A good prompt is rarely born perfect. It is perfected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Checklist to evaluate your prompt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before sending it, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have I defined the objective?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is the technical level clear?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have I limited the scope?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have I requested a specific format?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have I included verification criteria?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you answer \u201cyes\u201d to most of them, you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From generic AI to mastering prompting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mastering prompting is a game-changer.<\/strong>. It&#039;s not just about using AI and that&#039;s it; almost everyone is already doing that. It&#039;s about managing and controlling how you talk to your AI so that it gives you what you want.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#039;s not about AI thinking for you, but about <strong>Do better what you already know how to do<\/strong>.Check out our course and <a href=\"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/product\/el-arte-de-preguntar-mastering-prompt-engineering\/\">learn how to create prompts<\/a> Perfect. If AI is your ally, you&#039;ll appreciate this training.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#039;ve ever used ChatGPT, Gemini, or another AI, you&#039;ve probably experienced this: you ask a question and the answer is\u2026 odd. Not terrible, but not exactly helpful either. And that&#039;s when the doubt arises: is the AI useless, or am I asking the wrong question? Spoiler alert: it&#039;s almost always the latter. This is where [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":6657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ciencia-y-tecnologia"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/prompt-engineering.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6656"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6674,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6656\/revisions\/6674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxymia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}