Before We Start — Make a Prediction

You've used ChatGPT before. So have millions of people. Most of them are getting bad results and don't know why.

Here are two prompts asking for the same thing. Read both, then answer the question below.

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Prompt A:

Fix my code

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Prompt B:

I'm writing a Python function that's supposed to return the top 3 most frequent words in a string. It works on short inputs but crashes with an IndexError when the string has fewer than 3 unique words. Here's the code:

def top_words(text):
    counts = {}
    for word in text.split():
        counts[word] = counts.get(word, 0) + 1
    sorted_words = sorted(counts, key=counts.get, reverse=True)
    return [sorted_words[0], sorted_words[1], sorted_words[2]]

def top_words(text):
    counts = {}
    for word in text.split():
        counts[word] = counts.get(word, 0) + 1
    sorted_words = sorted(counts, key=counts.get, reverse=True)
    return [sorted_words[0], sorted_words[1], sorted_words[2]]

Fix the IndexError without changing the return type.

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Question: What specific information does Prompt B have that Prompt A is missing?

Write down at least 3 things before reading on. Seriously — pause and list them. You'll understand the next section twice as well._

Your Turn — Upgrade These Prompts

Below are three prompts a real CS student might type into ChatGPT. All three are weak. Your job: rewrite each one to be the kind of prompt that actually gets a useful response.

Open ChatGPT (or any AI chat tool you have). Write your improved prompt, send it, and compare the response to what the weak version would have gotten.

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Prompt 1 to upgrade:

"Explain recursion"

Your rewrite should target a specific use case you actually care about. Maybe you're studying for interviews. Maybe you're confused about a specific algorithm. Make it personal and specific.

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Prompt 2 to upgrade:

"Help me with my resume"

What job? What's already on the resume? What's weak about it? Fill in the blanks.

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Prompt 3 to upgrade:

"What is Big O notation"

You're a CS student. Push past the textbook definition — what do YOU want to know? The level of explanation, what you're going to use it for, how you want it framed.

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After you've sent each prompt:

Look at the response you got. Ask yourself:

• Did it answer exactly what you needed, or did it have to guess?
• What would you have had to ask as a follow-up if you'd sent the original weak prompt?

The difference between those two paths is the skill you're building here.

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If you're stuck on how to improve Prompt 1, here's a hint:

Instead of "explain recursion," try adding: who you are, what you already know, what you're trying to DO with the knowledge, and how you want it explained (simple analogy vs. technical deep-dive).