This assignment, by Brian Gogan, is from the TextGenEd January 2024 Continuing Experiments collection in the WAC Clearinghouse Repository.
The abstract from the site explains:
This assignment offers students an exploratory space—literally, a tabular document accompanied by an iterative process—within which they can refine the rhetoric of structured prompts and experiment with prompt engineering. As students focus on discrete rhetorical concepts, honing prompts to yield more optimal results, they further explore the relationships between production and reception, intent and interpretation. The assignment may be adapted for use in a single class or iterated across a weeks-long portion of a course to allow for differentiated learning. Weeks after having completed their last Gen/ReGen Log, my students still reference this assignment. Some of my students—themselves, college or high school educators—report success using Gen/ReGen Logs with their own students.
Key Features of This Assignment
- Enhanced Clarity in Writing
- The assignment focuses on enhancing clarity in writing by requiring students to create and refine structured prompts, ensuring that their instructions to the AI are precise and easily understood.
- Iterative Writing Process
- Students engage in an iterative writing process, continuously revising and improving their prompts. This mirrors effective writing practices by emphasizing drafting, feedback, and revision.
- Rhetorical Strategy Development
- The assignment includes the development of rhetorical strategies, where students analyze and refine the persuasive and directive elements of their prompts to achieve desired outcomes from the AI.
Find the full version of this resource at the WAC Clearinghouse.