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Free reference

How we write prompts

Every instrument Claremont builds follows the same five-part shape. It is not a secret and it works better when a firm can write its own.

No signup, no gate, no download. The page is the whole thing.

// The_Shape
1

Scope

Name the sources, and say to use only those. A model told to use outside knowledge will fill gaps with plausible invention.

2

Task

Say what to produce, as a numbered list. One instruction per number.

3

Format

Specify the structure of the output. Fixed headings, tables for anything comparative. Free prose is where accuracy goes to hide.

4

Evidence rule

Require a source citation for every finding. If it cannot cite, it should not assert.

5

Uncertainty rule

Instruct it to flag what is unclear rather than resolving it. This is the one most people leave out and it is the one that makes the output defensible.

The rest is vocabulary. Learn the shape and you can write a prompt for any job in your practice.

// Worked_Example

The shape, in one prompt

This is Document Collection Status, one of the five Notebook prompts in the vault, with each part labelled. Nothing here is held back.

Document Collection Status Microsoft 365 Copilot Notebooks
Scope
Use only what is in this notebook, plus the request list if one is present. Do not assume a document exists because it is customary.
Task
1. List every document present in the set, by name and date. 2. Match each against the request list, if one is present. 3. Identify what was requested and is missing. 4. Identify what is present but incomplete: unsigned, undated, partial periods, or missing schedules. 5. Identify what is present but was not requested.
Format
One table with columns for Item, Status, Period covered, and Source. Status is one of Received, Missing, Incomplete, or Unrequested. Nothing outside those four.
Evidence rule
Every Received and Incomplete row names the file it refers to. Every Missing row names the request line it came from.
Uncertainty rule
End with a heading called Unclear. List anything you could not classify: documents whose period is not stated, files that may be duplicates, and items whose name does not clearly match a request line.
// Notes

Written for Microsoft 365 Copilot Notebooks. Point a prompt at a set of client documents, not at a blank chat. Notebooks does not work by application, which is why none of this mentions Word or Excel.

The five free Notebook prompts are in the AI Vault. If you want the identifiers out of a document before it reaches an assistant you do not control, the Clean Room is free and runs in your browser.