Google's checklist flags a prompt that asks a model to summarise, extract entities, translate and draft an email in one pass. What is the fault, and the fix?

Easyprompt-engineeringfundamentalsdecomposition

Last reviewed 10 Aug 2026

It asks for too many distinct actions at once; break the requests into separate promptsCorrect answer
Splitting the work would lose the thread between the steps, so add a recap instead
The prompt is too long; shorten it by removing the least important of the four tasks
The four tasks belong to different domains; assign a separate persona to each of them

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. It asks for too many distinct actions at once; break the requests into separate prompts

Explanation

The principle — Each distinct cognitive action a prompt requests is another thing that can be done poorly, and they compete for the same single response.

Why the key is correct — Google's checklist names this pattern directly: a prompt asking for several distinct cognitive actions in a single pass is likely trying to accomplish too much, and the requests should be broken into separate prompts. Google's broader advice is the same — manage complexity by breaking things into simpler components.

Why the others are wrong — The fault is task count rather than length, and abandoning a task is not a fix. Extra personas add instructions rather than removing work. And splitting does not lose continuity, because outputs can be chained.

Remember this — Count the verbs you are asking for. More than two is usually more than one prompt.

Sources — Google Cloud, Overview of prompting strategies.

Sources

Primary sourceOverview of prompting strategies — Google Cloud · accessed 9 Aug 2026
“If the prompt asks the model to perform several distinct cognitive actions in a single pass ... it is likely trying to accomplish too much. Break the requests into separate prompts.”

Practise 10 questions on this topic

Take Prompt Engineering Fundamentals — Timed Test 1 (10 questions) — scored instantly, explanation for every question, no login.

Start the test

Google's checklist flags a prompt that asks a model to summarise, extract entities, translate and draft an email in one pass. What is the fault, and the fix?

Easyprompt-engineeringfundamentalsdecomposition

Last reviewed 10 Aug 2026

It asks for too many distinct actions at once; break the requests into separate promptsCorrect answer
Splitting the work would lose the thread between the steps, so add a recap instead
The prompt is too long; shorten it by removing the least important of the four tasks
The four tasks belong to different domains; assign a separate persona to each of them

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. It asks for too many distinct actions at once; break the requests into separate prompts

Explanation

The principle — Each distinct cognitive action a prompt requests is another thing that can be done poorly, and they compete for the same single response.

Remember this — Count the verbs you are asking for. More than two is usually more than one prompt.

Sources — Google Cloud, Overview of prompting strategies.

Sources

Primary sourceOverview of prompting strategies — Google Cloud · accessed 9 Aug 2026
“If the prompt asks the model to perform several distinct cognitive actions in a single pass ... it is likely trying to accomplish too much. Break the requests into separate prompts.”

Practise 10 questions on this topic

Take Prompt Engineering Fundamentals — Timed Test 1 (10 questions) — scored instantly, explanation for every question, no login.

Start the test

Google's checklist flags a prompt that asks a model to summarise, extract entities, translate and draft an email in one pass. What is the fault, and the fix?

Related questions

Google's checklist flags a prompt that asks a model to summarise, extract entities, translate and draft an email in one pass. What is the fault, and the fix?

Related questions