Barry University AI Prompting Guide

Getting great results from today's AI — chat, research, and agents

The Barry Blueprint for AI PromptingAI tools have grown up: they reason through problems, research with sources, work inside your documents, and even complete multi-step tasks. The good news — great prompting got simpler, not harder. Say what you want clearly, give the AI the right context, and review what comes back. This guide shows you how.

Core Principles

Lead with the goal

Say the outcome you want, not just the first step. Today’s AI plans the steps itself — “Prepare a one-page brief I can present to the Deans” beats “summarize this.”

Use natural language

Write prompts as if speaking to a person. No special syntax needed.

Be specific about what matters

Audience, purpose, constraints, tone. Detail beats length — a great prompt can be one line or a full paragraph. There’s no magic word count; include what matters, cut what doesn’t.

Give it your context

Attach files or point the AI at your documents in OneDrive, SharePoint, Outlook, or Drive. The AI is only as informed as what you share with it.

Show an example

Paste a sample of the tone or format you want — one good example teaches more than three sentences of description.

Iterate and refine

Treat it as a conversation. Ask the AI to critique its own draft, or say “Make this a power prompt” to have it improve your prompt for you.

💡Pro Tip: Use the AI itself to help you build the best prompt.

When a task is complex, ask the AI to interview you first: “Ask me questions one at a time until you have what you need, then do the task.” It fills the gaps you didn’t know you left.

Example: “Make this a power prompt: Summarize this 10-page report into bullet points for executives, focusing only on risks, costs, and deadlines.”

Structure of an Effective Prompt

Include up to five elements:

Persona – define the role (e.g., HR manager, project lead).
Task – the command or action (summarize, draft, brainstorm, research).
Context – relevant details, background, and attached files.
References – an example to imitate (a past email, a sample slide, a format you like).
Format – the desired output style (table, bullet points, slides, one page).

Practical Guidance

Outputs can vary. Review, refine, and validate results before you use them.
Final responsibility lies with you, not the AI. The better your prompt and context, the better your results.
Working with University data? Use the approved tools on the AI Tools page — same rules as always.

Advanced Techniques

Break complex requests into smaller prompts for better accuracy

Give constraints (e.g., word count, number of options, tone)

Assign roles to AI for creativity and perspective

Tailor tone (formal, casual, technical, upbeat, etc.)

Iterate and rephrase if results don’t fit your needs

Review outputs for clarity, accuracy, and relevance before using

Break complex requests into smaller prompts for better accuracy
Give constraints (e.g., word count, number of options, tone)
Assign roles to AI for creativity and perspective
Tailor tone (formal, casual, technical, upbeat, etc.)
Iterate and rephrase if results don’t fit your needs
Review outputs for clarity, accuracy, and relevance before using

Prompting the Newer Features

Deep Research

Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT can now run extended research and return a cited report. Prompt them like you’d brief a research assistant:

State the question you want answered — not just a topic.
Set the scope: time frame, geography, what to include and exclude.
Name preferred sources (peer-reviewed, .edu/.gov, industry reports).
Define the deliverable: length, structure, and how to present citations.

Deep research takes minutes, not seconds — invest the same care in the brief that you’d want from a colleague requesting one from you.

AI Agents

Agents complete multi-step work — building documents, organizing files, preparing meeting packets — and check in with you along the way. Prompt an agent with four things:

The goal: what “done” looks like.
The inputs: which files, folders, or messages it should use.
The boundaries: what it should not touch or decide without you.
The checkpoints: when you want to review before it proceeds.

Agents require the paid Team versions of each tool through your Barry account. See the AI Tools page.

Notebooks & Study Packs

Copilot Notebooks, Gemini Notebook, and ChatGPT Projects let you gather sources first, then ask questions grounded in them — answers come from your materials, not the open internet. Load the syllabus, the readings, or the policy docs, then prompt: “Using only these sources…” Great for study guides, audio overviews, and committee prep.

Make It Yours: Saved Prompts & Personalization

Stop retyping your best prompts. Each tool lets you save and reuse them — saved prompts in Copilot, Gems in Gemini, custom instructions and Projects in ChatGPT. Better yet, teach the AI your role, your tone, and your formats once, and every future answer starts closer to right. The Getting Started with Your AI Assistant page has copy-paste templates for exactly this.

Talk to It, Show It Things

Prompting isn’t just typing. Use voice to think out loud, or share a photo — a whiteboard from a planning session, a screenshot of an error, a chart from a PDF — and ask about it. “Turn this whiteboard into a task list with owners” is a complete prompt.

✅ Good Prompts

“You are a Barry University HR manager. Draft a 3-paragraph onboarding speech highlighting mentorship and professional development using @[Barry Mission Statement]. Keep the tone professional but warm.”
(Clear persona, task, context, and format.)

“Summarize Q2 financials into no more than 8 bullets for the Executive Leadership Council. Focus only on variance drivers, cash position, and decision deadlines.”
(Specific, concise, constrained output for CFO use.)

“Write a one-page purchase justification for [system] including a 3-year TCO table, ROI estimate, two viable alternatives, and a clear recommendation.”
(Procurement-ready structure for Business & Finance.)

“I am the Provost presenting to Deans. Create a 5-slide outline on program optimization: market demand, retention trends, modality mix, and resource shifts, with one metric per slide.”
(Tailored role, context, and structure.)

“I am the President addressing campus. Draft a 150-word message on [topic], followed by a 4-bullet FAQ and a single call to action.”
(Executive voice with tight format.)

“You are a professor. Turn this 10-page syllabus into a one-page student guide with learning outcomes, weekly cadence, grading breakdown, and academic integrity expectations.”
(Faculty-focused, student-ready output.)

“Convert these raw meeting notes into formal minutes with sections: Decisions, Action Items with owners and due dates, Open Issues, and Next Meeting.”
(Admin assistant workflow, standardized format.)

“Summarize this 10-page proposal into bullet points for executives. Focus only on risks, costs in USD, and deadlines.”
(Universal executive brief, tightly scoped.)

“Research how peer universities in Florida are using AI chatbots for student services. Focus on the last two years, prefer .edu sources and higher-ed press, and give me a one-page cited brief with three takeaways for Barry.”
(Deep Research: question, scope, sources, deliverable.)

“Using the attached program review files from SharePoint, build a first-draft summary deck: one slide per program, enrollment trend, cost per credit hour, and a flag for any program needing discussion. Check with me after the outline before building slides.”
(Agent-era prompt: goal, inputs, format, checkpoint.)

❌ Bad Prompts

“Write something about AI.”
(Too vague, no context or direction.)

“Summarize this for me.”
(Incomplete—no subject or focus specified.)

“Make this email good.”
(Unclear goal: good in what sense? Tone? Persuasiveness? Shortness?)

“Tell me about our customers.”
(Broad, lacks detail—what aspect of customers? Demographics, behaviors, complaints?)

“Draft a report on education.”
(Missing persona, context, length, format, or audience.)

“Do deep research on AI in higher education.”
(A topic, not a question — no scope, no time frame, no sources, no deliverable. See “Run a Deep Research Brief” in Prompts to Try for how to fix it.)

✨ Prompts to Try

Quickly Draft Email

Prompt: Act as a Barry University administrator. Draft a supportive and constructive email to [Insert audience]. The message must cover these points: [Insert key information].

Compare Two (or More) Documents

Prompt: Act as a research assistant at Barry University. Analyze the documents below and produce a summary that clearly outlines the main differences between them. Focus on changes in content, key arguments, and tone.

Document 1: [Paste the text from your first document here. You can also upload or drag and drop the file to insert its content.]

Document 2: [Paste the text from your second document here. You can also upload or drag and drop the file to insert its content.]

Proofread Text

Prompt: Act as a writing coach from Barry University. Correct the grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the text below. After the corrected text, provide a short summary of the main fixes you made to improve clarity and academic tone. [Insert text]

Summarize Meeting Notes

Prompt: Act as a project manager for a Barry University committee. Distill the following meeting notes into a structured summary. Organize the output into three distinct sections: Key Decisions Made, Action Items (with owners), and Next Steps. [Insert meeting notes here]

Edit Text

Prompt: Act as an editor for a Barry University publication. Revise the following text to meet these requirements: [list target tone, style, and audience]. [Paste text here]

Ask for Feedback

Prompt: Act as a faculty member at Barry University. Analyze the following academic work. Provide your feedback in two sections: "Strengths" and "Areas for Improvement." Focus your review on [Insert key objectives, e.g., thesis development, source integration]. [Paste work here]

Brainstorming

Prompt: Act as a creative strategist for Barry University. Help me brainstorm ideas for a [Insert activity or event] about [Insert theme or topic]. All suggestions must prioritize [Insert key goal, e.g., community engagement, skill development].

Help Generate a Custom Prompt

Prompt: You are a prompt engineer. Help me create a simple, reusable prompt for a task at Barry University. Ask me questions one by one to get the details you need.

Run a Deep Research Brief

Prompt: Act as a research analyst for Barry University. Research [question] covering the last [time frame]. Prefer [source types]. Deliver a one-page brief with key findings, a short list of cited sources, and three recommended next steps.

Hand a Task to an Agent

Prompt: Your goal: [outcome, e.g., a meeting packet for Thursday’s committee]. Use these inputs: [files/folders/threads]. Do not [boundaries, e.g., send anything or contact anyone]. Show me your plan and check in before finalizing.

Build a Study Pack

Prompt: Using only the sources I’ve added to this notebook, create a study guide with: key concepts in plain language, 10 practice questions with answers, and a one-paragraph summary per source. Flag anything the sources disagree on.

Need access to a tool? Sign in or request a license on the Getting Access page.

Last reviewed: August 2026

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