Style Prompting

What is Style Prompting?¶

Style Prompting¹ aims to influence the structure by prompting the LLM to adhere to a specific writing style. This includes things such as indicating a certain tone, pacing or even characterization to follow.

The effect can be similar to role prompting.^*

import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel
import openai


class Email(BaseModel):
    message: str


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.OpenAI())


email = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Write an email addressed to Mr. John Smith from Jane Doe. \
            The email should be formal and the message should be polite\
            and respectful. The topic of the email is to invite Mr Smith\
            to a business meeting on July 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM in Room 123.",  # (!) !
        }
    ],
    response_model=Email,
)

print(email.message)

Sample Style Prompting output

Dear Mr. John Smith,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Jane Doe, and I am writing to cordially invite you to attend a business meeting scheduled for July 15, 2024, at 10:00 AM in Room 123.

Your presence at this meeting would be greatly appreciated, as your insights and expertise would be invaluable to our discussions.

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to the possibility of your attendance.

Best regards,
Jane Doe

Useful Tips¶

Here are some useful phrases that you might want to include when using style prompting to get the desired output that you want.

Category	Template	Example Phrases
Writing Style	1. Write a style passage about topic 2. Write a passage with a style writing style about topic 3. Write a style passage about topic	style: functional, flowery, candid, prosaic, ornate, or poetic topic: sunsets, strawberries, or writing a paper
Tone	1. Write a tone passage about subject 2. Write a passage about subject with a tone tone 3. Create a tone passage about subject	tone: dramatic, humorous, optimistic, sad subject: love, life, humanity
Emotional Tone	1. Write a passage about subject that makes the reader feel emotion 2. Write a passage about subject with a emotion mood 3. Create a passage about subject that makes the reader feel emotion	subject: love, life, humanity emotion: angry, fearful, happy, sad, envious, anxious, proud, regretful, surprised, loved, disgusted
Characterization	1. Write a story about subject with indirect characterization 2. Write a story about subject with direct characterization 3. Create a story about subject where the characters are described indirectly 4. Create a story about subject where the characters are described directly	subject: lovers, cats, survivors
Pacing	1. Write a pace-paced story about subject 2. Write a story about subject that is pace-paced 3. Create a pace-paced story about subject	pace: fast, slow subject: lovers, cats, survivors

References¶

¹: Bounding the Capabilities of Large Language Models in Open Text Generation with Prompt Constraints

^*: The Prompt Resport: A Systematic Survey of Prompting Techniques