This domain is 14% of the CCAO-F exam. Write instructions that reliably produce useful business output.
Say what you need, for whom, and in what shape
Good business prompts contain: the task, the context (who the audience is, what the situation is), the constraints (length, tone, things to avoid) and the format of the answer. "Write something about our product" gets generic output; "Write a 120-word LinkedIn post for CFOs about our invoicing automation, plain tone, no hype, end with a question" does not.
Structure with XML tags
When a prompt mixes instructions with pasted material, wrap each part in tags such as <document>, <instructions> and <example>. It makes clear which text is data and which is instruction, and helps Claude follow the right part.
Show examples
One or two examples of the output you want — especially a tricky case — beat paragraphs of description.
Break big tasks down and iterate
For complex work, split it into steps (outline, then draft, then edit) and review between steps. Treat the first response as a starting point: say what to change, rather than starting over.
Give Claude a way out
Tell it what to do when information is missing — ask a question or say it is unknown — so it does not guess.
Common exam angles
- Choosing the clearest, most complete version of a prompt.
- Knowing when to add context, examples or a format spec.
- Using structure (such as XML tags) to separate instructions from data.