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AI and Information Literacy: Prompt Ideas

Prompt Ideas

Generative AI tools generate content in response to written and image prompts. Try some of these resources for prompt ideas:

What is Prompt Literacy? 

Read an Open Access article from UMASS Amherst

Gattupalli, Sai; Maloy, Robert W.; and Edwards, Sharon A., "Prompt Literacy: A Pivotal Educational Skill in the Age of AI" (2023). College of Education Working Papers and Reports Series. 6. https://doi.org/10.7275/3498-wx48

Free Prompt Literacy course from University of Michigan 

General AI Prompt Library for Educators

Crafting Prompts

A prompt is (technically speaking) input to an AI tool. For research AI tools, the prompt is almost always a question, request, or topic posed by you, the human researcher. Why should you try to write good prompts?

  • Good prompts help the AI help you. A well-crafted prompt enables the AI to give you meaningful and useful results. A bad prompt may result in irrelevant data or lead you away from the best research.

Created by How to Craft Prompts - Artificial Intelligence (Generative) Resources - Guides at Georgetown University

 Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Articles from Science Direct and Academic Search Complete

How to Write Simple Image Prompts for AI

How to Write Simple Image Prompts for AI

 

  • Be clear: Say exactly what image you want (object, scene, action)
    • Example: “A cat sleeping on a windowsill.”
  • Add style or mood (if needed): Specify realistic, cartoon, sketch, etc.
    • Example: “A realistic photo of a cat sleeping on a windowsill.”
  • Add details for context or purpose: Colors, setting, time of day, emotion.
    • Example: “A cheerful cartoon of a cat sleeping on a sunny windowsill, with flowers outside.”
  • Keep it short and direct: Focus on the most important elements.
    • Prompt formula:
      • “[Subject/scene], [style or mood], [key details].”
    • Examples:
      • “A robot reading a book, in a playful cartoon style.”
      • “Library interior, watercolor painting, cozy and quiet.”
      • “Woman lifting weights, realistic, gym background, early morning light.”
  • Test and adjust as needed!


Prompt Engineering. (2025). Artificial Intelligence for Image Research. University of Toronto Libraries. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/image-gen-ai