AI›Level 1 · AI Explorer›Lesson 23

L1 · 23

Show, Don't Just Tell

Sometimes the fastest way to get what you want is to show the AI an example. One good example often beats a long description.

⏱ 1.5 hours💬 Prompt lesson📚 After AI-L1-22🤖 Teacher-managed class chatbot
01

Learning Goals

5 min

By the end of this lesson you can:

  • Explain how giving an example guides the AI.
  • Write a prompt that includes an example.
  • Decide when showing beats telling.
02

Warm-Up · Describe or Show?

8 min

Last lesson we made prompts specific. Today, an even quicker trick.

If you wanted a friend to fold a paper crane, would it be easier to describe every fold in words, or to show them one finished crane and one fold?

Reveal the thinking

Showing! One example tells them the style and shape instantly. You can "show" an AI too — by putting an example right in your prompt.

03

New Concept · Give an Example

18 min

You can include an example of the kind of answer you want. The AI copies the pattern of your example — its style, length and shape.

It's like showing a worked sum before asking someone to do the next one. The example does the explaining for you.

You

Make rhyming pairs of Malaysian foods, like this example: nasi - lemak rhymes with... no — instead, format like: "roti canai — flaky and brown, the tastiest bread in town." Now write 3 more in that same style.

🤖 AI

• teh tarik — pulled up high, frothy and sweet, a morning's delight. • char kway teow — smoky and fried, with prawns tucked inside. • cendol — green worms of jelly, cold coconut in your belly.

When showing helps most

  • When the format is fiddly (a special layout).
  • When the style is hard to describe (funny, rhyming, formal).
  • When telling would take ages but one example is clear.
Stay safe

Use made-up or schoolwork examples. Don't paste personal messages or other people's private information as your example.

04

Worked Example · Fix the Format

18 min

Without an example, the AI guesses the layout:

You

give me facts about planets

🤖 AI

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Venus is very hot. Earth has life. Mars is red...

Now we show the exact format we want with one example:

You

Write planet facts in exactly this format: "Mars — the red planet. Fun fact: it has the tallest volcano in the Solar System." Now do Earth, Jupiter and Saturn in the same style.

🤖 AI

Earth — our home planet. Fun fact: it is the only one we know with life. Jupiter — the giant planet. Fun fact: it has a storm bigger than Earth. Saturn — the ringed planet. Fun fact: its rings are made of ice and rock.

The takeaway

The example acted like a mould. The AI poured each new fact into the same shape — no long instructions needed.

05

Try It Yourself

20 min

Use the teacher-opened chatbot.

01 🟢 Add an example

Ask the AI for three animal facts, but first show it one example fact in the exact style you want.

Hint

Write "Like this: 'Tiger — fast and striped'. Now do 3 more."

02 🟡 Show a tricky format

Get the AI to make a list in your special format (e.g. "Name — emoji — one-word feeling") by giving it one example first.

Hint

Example: "Durian — 🟢 — bold". Then ask for three more fruits in that style.

06

Mini-Challenge · Copy My Style

12 min

Invent a fun mini-format of your own (a riddle style, a rhyme, a special layout). Write one example, then ask the AI to make three more in that exact style.

It works if the AI's three answers clearly copy your example's style — that means your example did the teaching.

Show one challenge
You

Here is my riddle style: "I am yellow and curved, monkeys love me — what am I? (banana)". Now write 3 more fruit riddles in exactly this style, with the answer in brackets.

07

Recap

5 min

Showing the AI an example is often faster than describing what you want. It copies the pattern — style, length and shape. Use it when the format is fiddly or the style is hard to put into words.

Vocabulary Card

example (in a prompt)
A sample answer you give the AI to copy the style of.
show, don't tell
Giving an example instead of a long description.
format
The exact shape or layout you want the answer in.
08

Homework · A Prompt with an Example

≤ 20 min

Write one prompt that includes an example to guide the AI. Note what style or format your example is teaching.