Fix a Vague Prompt
'Make it good', 'be detailed', 'keep it interesting' — vague prompts get vague output. The fix is mechanical: replace every fuzzy word with a checkable instruction.
Overview
Vagueness is the most common prompt defect and the easiest to fix once you treat it mechanically. Every vague term maps to a concrete replacement: 'engaging' becomes a hook instruction, 'detailed' becomes a coverage list, 'good' becomes success criteria, 'some' becomes a number. This resource loads a prompt built almost entirely from vague terms, so the rewrite shows the full replacement map in one pass — and the clarity-focused mode keeps the rewrite tight instead of padding it.
Workflow
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Run Improve Clarity on the loaded prompt
Watch 'interesting', 'engaging', 'detailed', and 'useful' each turn into a specific instruction — and 'try to' disappear.
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Note what survived
The actual ask — write about the feature launch — is untouched. Only the fuzz changed.
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Check Remaining Risks
Clarity mode doesn't add audience or format. The risk list tells you they're still missing — switch to Best Practice if you want them filled.
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Apply to your prompts
Any prompt with two or more adjectives in place of instructions is a candidate.
Why This Works
- Vague terms aren't bad writing — they're undelegated decisions; the rewrite surfaces each one
- A fixed replacement map makes de-fuzzing repeatable instead of a matter of taste
- Mode separation keeps the fix minimal: clarity mode fixes wording without growing the prompt
Best for
- Prompts heavy on adjectives and light on instructions
- Output that reads plausible but never quite useful
- Anyone who writes prompts the way they'd brief a human colleague
Not for
- Flagging ambiguity without rewriting — the Prompt Cleaner's health report does that
- Comparing a vague and a specific prompt side by side — that's the Prompt Comparator
Use cases
- De-fuzzing a prompt before it goes into a recurring workflow
- Showing a teammate why their prompt keeps producing fluff
- Learning the vague-term → concrete-instruction replacement map