# The ATP Prompt Standard

The house way to write any AI prompt. Five parts, in this order, every time. Use it for emails, proposals, context files, job descriptions, anything. The structure is the skill.

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## 1. ROLE

Tell the AI who to be. One sentence starting with "You are a..."

Why it matters: the role sets the expertise level, the vocabulary, and the standards the answer gets judged by. "You are a commercial insurance underwriter" produces a different answer than no role at all.

## 2. CONTEXT

Paste in what the AI needs to know about you, your business, and the situation. Your company context file goes here if you have one.

Why it matters: the model can only work with what you give it. No context means generic output. This is the part most people skip, and it is the part that matters most.

## 3. TASK

One clear job. One output. Not three jobs. Not "and also."

Why it matters: a prompt that asks for five things gets five mediocre things. One task, done properly, then ask for the next one.

## 4. FORMAT

Say exactly what shape the answer takes. A table. A one-page markdown file. Three bullet points. A 150-word email.

Why it matters: if you do not define the shape, the model picks one for you, and you spend your time reformatting instead of reviewing.

## 5. QUESTIONS FIRST

End every prompt with this line:

"Ask me up to 5 questions before you start."

Why it matters: this is the single biggest quality lever in the whole standard. It forces the AI to surface what it does not know instead of guessing. The answers to those questions become context for everything that follows.

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## A worked example

> You are an experienced service business copywriter who writes in plain language with no hype.
>
> CONTEXT: I run a residential plumbing company in Calgary. Two crews, mostly repair work and hot water tank replacement. Customers find us through Google and referrals. We answer the phone live during business hours. We never quote a price before seeing the job.
>
> TASK: Write a follow-up email to a homeowner who requested a quote three days ago and has not responded.
>
> FORMAT: Under 120 words. Subject line plus body. No exclamation marks.
>
> Ask me up to 5 questions before you start.

Copy the shape. Swap in your business. That is the whole system.

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ATP AI, Sales and Marketing - atpsalesandmarketing.com