LESSON 4 OF 5
Specify the shape of the answer
BY THE END OF THIS LESSON
Get output you can use directly instead of reformatting by hand.
Reformatting is a tax you are choosing to pay
If you regularly copy an answer out and restructure it before using it, that reformatting was specifiable. You just did not specify it.
Say the shape explicitly
Name the container: a table with these columns, a numbered list, JSON with these keys, one paragraph, a two-column comparison.
Name what is not wanted too. "No preamble, no summary at the end, no offer to help further." Those wrappers are where a surprising amount of your editing time goes.
Shape changes the thinking
This is the part people miss. Asking for a table does not just format the answer — it forces the same fields to be filled for every row, which exposes the option it knows least about. A prose answer would have glossed over that gap.
Choose the shape that makes omissions visible.
WORKED EXAMPLE
UNSHAPED
Compare these three project management tools for my team.
SHAPED
Compare these three tools as a table. Columns: Tool | Best for | Weakest point | Cost at 12 users | Migration effort (low/medium/high) | Confidence in this row (high/medium/low) One row per tool. No preamble, no summary. If you do not know a value, write "unknown" — do not estimate.
The confidence column and the "unknown" rule turn a persuasive comparison into a usable one — you can see instantly which cells to verify. Prose would have hidden the weak spots inside confident sentences.
YOUR TURN
Design a shape that exposes what the model does not know.
RUN THIS
I want to compare options for a decision, and I want the format to make gaps visible rather than hide them. Propose a table structure for this comparison, including at least one column that surfaces uncertainty and one that surfaces effort or cost to me. Then fill it in, writing "unknown" wherever you would otherwise be estimating. I am comparing: [your options]
What a good result looks like
Some cells should say "unknown". A table with no unknowns in it usually means it estimated and did not tell you.
KNOWLEDGE CHECK
Answer all 2 correctly to complete this lesson.
1. Beyond formatting, what does specifying a table actually do?
2. Why instruct it to write "unknown" rather than estimate?
REMEMBER THIS
Specify the shape — it removes reformatting and exposes what it does not know.