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1.3

The Reframe

Estimated time: 20 minEstimated cost: ~$0.02Tool: Claude Haiku
After this drill, you can:

After this drill, you know how to diagnose a failed prompt and rewrite it to get the output you actually need.

Why this matters

The most important skill in prompting is not writing good prompts the first time — it's knowing how to fix a bad one. Iteration is the core loop. AI outputs fail in predictable ways: too generic, wrong format, missed the point, wrong tone, too long/short. This drill builds the diagnostic habit: when output is wrong, what specifically is wrong, and which prompt change fixes it?

How to do it

  1. 1

    Use one of your saved prompts from Drills 1.1–1.2 that produced a mediocre output

    Or start fresh with a task and intentionally write a weak prompt.

  2. 2

    Diagnose what went wrong using the failure taxonomy below

    Pick the category that best describes the failure: Too Generic | Wrong Format | Missed the Point | Wrong Tone | Wrong Length | Hallucinated Facts

  3. 3

    Apply the matching reframe strategy

    Each failure type has a specific fix. Use the reframe prompt below for your failure type.

  4. 4

    Compare original and reframed responses side by side

    Write one sentence: "The reframe fixed [specific problem] by [specific change to the prompt]."

The prompt

PROMPT — The Diagnostic ReframeModel: Claude HaikuEst. cost: ~$0.02
I sent you this prompt: [PASTE YOUR ORIGINAL PROMPT]

You responded with: [PASTE YOUR ORIGINAL RESPONSE — or describe what was wrong with it]

The problem is: [Too Generic / Wrong Format / Missed the Point / Wrong Tone / Wrong Length / Other]

Specifically: [One sentence describing exactly what was wrong]

Please help me rewrite the original prompt to fix this specific problem. Give me the rewritten prompt only — don't execute it yet.

Success criteria

  • ✓You identified one specific failure type from the taxonomy
  • ✓You applied a reframe that targeted that specific failure type
  • ✓The reframed output is measurably better than the original
  • ✓You wrote one sentence naming what changed in the prompt and why it helped

Common mistakes

Adding more words instead of targeting the failure type

→ More context doesn't fix wrong tone. More detail doesn't fix wrong format. Diagnose first. The reframe must match the diagnosis.

Applying multiple reframes at once

→ Change one thing per iteration. If you change three things and the output improves, you don't know which change mattered. Isolate variables.

Giving up after two iterations

→ Complex tasks often need 3–5 iterations. Each iteration should produce a more specific prompt, not a longer one.