Apply prompting strategies
A unified guide to writing clear, adaptable prompts and choosing the right prompting approach for every task in Rocket.
This guide combines two essential aspects of prompting in Rocket:
- The C.L.E.A.R. framework for writing strong, effective prompts.
- Core prompting strategies, like zero-shot, one-shot, few-shot, and chain-of-thought.
These tools help you go from simple tasks to deeply structured conversations—faster, smarter, and more reliably.
Why prompting principles matter
A prompt isn’t just a request - it’s your instruction manual for Rocket’s AI.
Strong prompts give you better structure, smarter behavior, and fewer surprises.
This guide introduces two core models that will level up how you prompt:
- The C.L.E.A.R. framework for writing high-quality prompts.
- A set of universal prompting strategies, including zero-shot, few-shot, one-shot, and chain-of-thought prompting.
The C.L.E.A.R. Framework
This framework outlines five qualities that make your prompt easier for Rocket to interpret and dramatically improves the quality of your output.
To show how this works in practice, we’ll use one example prompt across all five stages:
Goal: Create a screen where users can book a consultation call.
1. Concise
Be brief but clear. Focus on what matters, and cut unnecessary wording.
Rocket parses prompts instantly. Extra words don’t help - it’s clarity that counts.
2. Logical
Group related elements. Organize the layout like a user would experience it.
Prompting out of sequence often leads to unexpected layouts or confusing flows.
Key term: Layout refers to how interface components are visually arranged. Logical order helps Rocket structure your app cleanly.
3. Explicit
Be specific about what you want to appear and how it should behave.
Don’t leave details up to interpretation. The more precisely you describe the behavior, the more accurate the output.
Prompting works best when you imagine you’re writing instructions for a builder. Specific requests = precise results.
4. Adaptive
Tailor your prompt to the current goal - whether it’s design, logic, or debugging.
Being too general makes it harder for Rocket to know what to prioritize - layout, logic, or both.
Key term: Logic describes how elements behave—validation, interactions, and flows.
5. Reflective
Don’t settle for your first draft. Reflective prompting means reviewing, adjusting, or rephrasing based on results or what you learned from a previous attempt.
Do:
Tried a version that felt too vague, so you rewrote it:
Great prompting is iterative. If the output isn’t quite right, don’t just edit the result - rethink the instruction.
Reflection is what turns decent prompts into excellent ones. If the result wasn’t what you expected, revise the input - not just the app.
Prompting strategies that level you up
Once you know the basics of prompting, you can start experimenting with different approaches. These strategies help you:
- Get more accurate results.
- Adapt the tone and formatting.
- Handle more complex goals.
Let’s look at the most useful ones.
Zero-shot prompting
Use this when the task is simple and doesn’t need examples or setup.
Clean and direct. Great for short tasks with clear goals.
Instructional prompting
Use this when you want specific behaviors, structure, or formatting.
You’re guiding Rocket on how to shape the result.
Prompting for tone and clarity
Use this when you want the output to reflect empathy, clarity, or audience awareness.
Few-shot prompting
Use this when you want Rocket to follow a style or layout you’ve used before like how you structure sections, repeat visual patterns, or carry consistent behaviors across screens.
You’re showing Rocket what “good” looks like. It continues the pattern across your app.
Chain-of-thought prompting
Use this when you want Rocket to reason through the task step-by-step before generating output.
Great for logic-heavy prompts, debugging, and multi-step flows.
Quick strategy guide
Strategy | When to use it | What it helps with |
---|---|---|
Zero-shot | Simple, well-scoped tasks | Quick builds with minimal setup |
Instructional | You need control over layout, logic, or style | Clear, structured, and repeatable results |
Tone/Clarity | First-time UX or voice-sensitive screens | Shapes the experience to fit the audience |
Few-shot | You’ve already used a pattern you want to repeat | Maintains design consistency and flow |
Chain-of-thought | Tasks with logic, order, or dependencies | Breaks down steps for accurate execution |
The more intentional your prompt, the more reliable your results.
Preventing hallucinations and inconsistencies
Even well-written prompts can generate off-track results. Here’s how to reduce drift, missing logic, or features you didn’t ask for.
1. Be specific about source data and constraints
Specific nouns (fields, collections, actions) reduce ambiguity and keep Rocket grounded.
2. Sequence complex logic into steps
Step-by-step instructions reduce skipped behavior and are easier to test.
3. Reflect and revise before re-prompting
If the output isn’t what you expect, don’t just rephrase—step back and clarify what Rocket misunderstood.
Review this screen’s logic. What assumptions did Rocket make that aren’t valid?
The more complex the task, the more your prompt becomes a design brief. Revising the instruction is often more effective than editing the output.
What’s next?
Try combining strategies for even more control. For example:
Then…
Start with structure, then refine tone. Stack prompts to shape the experience.
Continue exploring: