RTF

What It Is

Role, Task, Format. The minimal structural framework. Fast to write, easy to teach.

When to Use It

Use for quick, well-understood tasks. Upgrade to CO-STAR or RISEN when output misses context or constraints.

Blank Template

Role: {{persona}}
Task: {{what to do}}
Format: {{output shape}}

Five Sample Prompts for Gen AI Professionals

RTF-01 - Code review

Role: Senior {{language}} reviewer.
Task: Review this diff for bugs, security issues and readability.
<diff>{{diff}}</diff>
Format: Table with file, line, severity, issue, fix.

RTF-02 - Docstring generation

Role: Python maintainer who follows Google docstring style.
Task: Write docstrings for every public function below.
<code>{{code}}</code>
Format: The full file with docstrings added, no other changes.

RTF-03 - SQL explanation

Role: Database performance engineer.
Task: Explain what this query does and why it is slow.
<query>{{sql}}</query><plan>{{explain_output}}</plan>
Format: 3 sections: what it does, bottleneck, fixed query.

RTF-04 - Commit message

Role: Engineer following Conventional Commits.
Task: Write a commit message for this diff.
<diff>{{diff}}</diff>
Format: One subject line under 72 chars, blank line, bullet body.

RTF-05 - Stakeholder update

Role: AI programme lead.
Task: Turn these notes into a weekly client update.
<notes>{{notes}}</notes>
Format: Done, next, risks, decisions needed. Max 150 words.

Links

• Up: Frameworks
• Curated by: curation prompts