The Prompt
You can copy this prompt in the upper-right corner.
Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points.
"""
{text input here}
"""
How to Quickly Summarize text with ChatGPT
In today’s fast-paced world, time is of the essence. With the abundance of information available, it can be challenging to keep up with everything. That’s where Chat GPT comes in. Chat GPT is a powerful tool that can help you summarize text quickly and efficiently.
Chat GPT is an AI-powered chatbot that uses natural language processing to understand and summarize text. It can be used to summarize articles, reports, and even books. The tool is incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of settings, from business to education.
If you’re looking to save time and get the gist of a piece of text quickly, this Chat GPT Prompt is the perfect tool for you. Whether you’re a busy professional or a student trying to keep up with coursework, ChatGPT can help you stay on top of things. So, let’s dive into the world of ChatGPT and explore its best practices.
Noted the “””? Best practices to ask chat gpt to summarize text
Prompt engineering plays a crucial role in obtaining accurate and relevant responses from AI language models like ChatGPT. One useful practice, applicable in various contexts, is to structure the prompt with clear instructions and separate the instruction from the context. This approach allows the AI to better comprehend the task and deliver more accurate results.
Whether you’re summarizing text, translating languages, or generating creative content, this best practice ensures that ChatGPT understands the context and desired outcome. By placing instructions at the beginning and using triple hash (###) or triple quotes (“””) to separate them from the context, you create a well-defined structure for the AI to follow.
In this article, we’ll explore how to apply this best practice across different applications and scenarios, enhancing your interaction with ChatGPT and ensuring more precise and meaningful output.
The text we took for this example, is a couple of sections of the article for ChatGPT published on Wikipedia.
Prompt Variables
How to modify the prompt? See examples of how to change the variables between curly brackets
Variable | Description | Examples | Complete prompt with example |
---|---|---|---|
{text input here} | Text to be summarized | Your study notes, a Chapter of a book, a Scientific article | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points. |
Prompt use scenarios
Here are 5 examples of different situations, where this ChatGPT prompt could be useful.
Research paper
Summarizing a lengthy article or research paper to highlight the main points
Meeting notes
Quickly summarizing the key takeaways from a meeting for future reference
Study notes
Condensing a textbook chapter or lecture into a concise summary for studying purposes
Presentation
Creating a brief overview of a topic to present to an audience
Email communication
Summarizing a lengthy email or message to ensure the recipient understands the main points quickly
Additional variables ideas for this prompt
You can improve this ChatGPT prompt by using the following variables.
Variable | Description | Examples | Prompt Variation |
---|---|---|---|
{Author} | Adds the name of the author of the text | John Smith, Jane Doe | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points according to {Author}. |
{Date} | Adds the date the text was written or published | January 1, 2022, 2022-01-01 | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points published on {Date}. |
{Source} | Adds the source of the text | New York Times, CNN | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points from {Source}. |
{Topic} | Adds the topic of the text | Politics, Technology | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points about {Topic}. |
{Audience} | Adds the intended audience of the text | Children, Investors | Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points for {Audience}. |
Let’s try the Topic variable by adding a Date variation. The prompt I used is: “Summarize the text below as a bullet point list of the most important points organized in a timeline:” followed by the text between triple quotes.
Conversation continuity
What are the main points of the text?
Can you provide a brief summary of the text?
What are the key takeaways from the text?
How would you summarize the main ideas of the text?
What are the essential points that readers should know from the text?
I like this prompt idea:
“Can you provide a brief summary of the text?”
Now, let’s try it out and see what results we get.
Attributes of the Prompt
From this ChatGPT prompt, we can learn several things that can be used in other contexts:
Clarity:
The prompt is clear and straightforward, with no ambiguity or confusion.
Specificity:
The prompt is specific in terms of what is required of the user, which is to summarize the text as a bullet point list of the most important points.
Context:
The prompt provides no context, which means that the user must rely solely on the text provided to complete the task.
Tone:
The tone of the prompt is neutral and objective, with no emotional or subjective language.
Style:
The style of the prompt is formal and professional, with no colloquial or informal language.
Open-ended vs Closed-ended:
The prompt is closed-ended, as it requires the user to provide a specific type of response (a bullet point list of the most important points).
InstructGPT words:
The prompt contains instructive words, such as “”summarize”” and “”bullet point list,”” which provide clear guidance on what is expected of the user.
Overall, the attributes of this ChatGPT prompt make it clear and easy to understand, with specific instructions and a neutral tone. These attributes can be useful in a variety of contexts, such as in educational settings where clear and specific instructions are necessary for students to complete assignments. Additionally, the formal and professional style of the prompt could be useful in workplace settings where clear communication is essential for productivity and success.
Issues you can face when using this prompt in ChatGPT
As an AI language model, ChatGPT is designed to assist users in generating human-like responses to their queries. One of the most common prompts used in ChatGPT is to summarize a given text into bullet points. However, there are several issues that users may face when using this prompt, including:
Difficulty in identifying the most important points: Depending on the length and complexity of the text, it may be challenging to determine which points are the most important and relevant to the user’s needs.
Lack of context: Without proper context, it may be challenging to summarize the text accurately and effectively. This can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Inability to capture nuances: Bullet points are often concise and straightforward, which can make it difficult to capture the nuances and subtleties of the text. This can be especially problematic when dealing with complex or abstract concepts.
Loss of information: When summarizing a text into bullet points, there is always a risk of losing important information or details that may be relevant to the user’s needs.
Plagiarism concerns: Depending on the source of the text, summarizing it into bullet points may raise concerns about plagiarism or copyright infringement. It is essential to ensure that the summary is original and properly cited if necessary.
Overall, while summarizing a text into bullet points can be a useful tool for quickly and efficiently conveying information, it is important to be aware of these potential issues and take steps to mitigate them as necessary.