# Session 2 Handout: Getting More: Passes and Critique

<p class="meta">FAST-03 Prompt Engineering for the Workplace · 7formations · Instructor: Wadood Chaudhary · All examples fictional</p>

## Why this session matters

One big prompt asking for a perfect final draft usually produces something that's almost right in ways that are hard to spot. Working in **passes** (structure, then facts, then audience, then polish) keeps each step checkable and stops the model from quietly changing facts while you ask it to "make it friendlier."

## Key concepts

### 1. The four passes

| Pass | Ask for | You check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Headings | Section headings only | Is this the right job? Are all questions covered? |
| 2 Fill | Content for each heading from the source only | Every fact traces to the source; gaps flagged |
| 3 Audience | Rewrite for a named reader: tone, word choice, length | No facts added, removed, or changed |
| 4 Polish | Final trims: length, greeting, formatting | Same as pass 3 |

**Rule:** after pass 2, the facts are frozen. Later passes change *how*, never *what*. If pass 3 changes the job (answers a different question) or adds a fact, go back to the pass-2 text and constrain the prompt: "Change tone only. Do not add, remove, or change facts."

### 2. Asking for assumptions without adding them

Useful follow-up: *"List what you assumed and what's missing from the source. Do not change the draft."* This gives you a checklist, not new content. **You** decide what to add, from the real source, and record where it came from. Avoid "make it more complete": it invites the model to fill gaps on its own.

### 3. Chaining and fresh starts

**Chaining** means running small dependent steps in one chat: headings → fill → audience. It works well within one job and one source. Start a **new chat** when:

- the job changes (a new guest, a different document);
- the source changes;
- the chat is long and old details start appearing (drift);
- restricted data was entered (reject, report, restart clean; never carry it forward).

### 4. Three workplace patterns

| Pattern | Reader needs | Key Format lines | Check step |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Customer reply | Answers to their questions, warmly | Under 100 words; answer each question in order | Every answer from source; unknowns say "we'll confirm" |
| Internal summary | What happened, what changes for me | 5 bullets; actions with owners | Five-fact check against the source |
| Read-ahead | What's being decided, options, open questions | Decision needed / options / questions; one page | Options and numbers trace to source; open questions listed |

Save each as a template: the five parts plus the check step.

## Worked example: the parent's question

**Guest (sanitized):** "What happens if it rains? Will someone watch my 8-year-old? Is there parking?"

**Pass 1:** Headings: Rain plan / Children / Parking. ✔ All three covered.

**Pass 2 (source only):** "Rain plan: we'll confirm and let you know (not in source). Children: children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult; there is no lifeguard on duty. Parking: meet at the east parking lot kiosk; we'll confirm any parking details." Gaps: rain plan; parking fees.

**Pass 3 (first try):** "...Don't worry, our friendly staff will keep an eye on the little ones!" ✖ New fact, and a safety-critical one.

**Pass 3 (fixed prompt):** "Rewrite for a parent who wants reassurance: warm, plain, under 100 words. Do not add, remove, or change any facts; answer the same three questions." Output keeps "an adult must accompany children under 12; no lifeguard on duty." ✔

## Checklist: running passes

- [ ] Pass 1 confirms the job before content.
- [ ] Pass 2 uses only the fenced source; gaps flagged.
- [ ] Assumptions requested as a separate list.
- [ ] Passes 3 and 4 say "do not add, remove, or change facts."
- [ ] Diff check: pass 2 vs final, sentence by sentence.
- [ ] New chat for a new job, new source, or drift.

## Do and don't

| Do | Don't |
| --- | --- |
| Freeze facts after pass 2 | Ask for "more complete" in later passes |
| Name the reader in pass 3 | Write "make it better" |
| Compare pass 2 and final side by side | Trust that tone edits leave facts alone |
| Start fresh for each new job | Run a whole day's work in one chat |
| Save working pass prompts as templates | Rebuild passes from memory every time |

## Try this at work

1. Pick a reply or summary you write often.
2. Write the four pass prompts with placeholders.
3. Run on a sanitized example, then diff pass 2 vs final.
4. Save the prompts as a template and note one drift symptom you saw.

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Pass | One focused round of prompting with a single purpose |
| Chaining | Dependent steps in one chat, each building on a checked result |
| Drift | A long chat mixing in details from earlier, unrelated work |
| Diff check | Comparing two versions to find any changed facts |
| Read-ahead | Pre-meeting brief: decision, options, open questions |
| Assumptions list | The model's list of what it assumed or found missing, kept separate from the draft |

## Key takeaways

- Structure, facts, audience, polish, in that order.
- Facts freeze after pass 2.
- New job or drift means a new chat.