4.8 – ChatGPT Prompting – The Prompt Structure Lesson

Lesson Overview

Creating the right image with generative AI starts with giving clear, useful instructions—a process called prompting. Instead of letting AI guess what you mean, you’ll get much better results by telling it exactly what you want, and a well-structured prompt makes this much easier. This lesson breaks down a helpful structure for writing image prompts in ChatGPT for DALL·E 3. The system focuses on five main elements: Medium, Style, Composition, Scene, and Setting (or Atmosphere). Arranging your ideas within this structure helps you communicate the details and mood you envision, leading to more accurate outputs.

This method is helpful whether you're an artist seeking inspiration, a marketer developing campaign visuals, or anyone wanting specific image content. A detailed prompt like “Create a digital illustration in a realistic style, focusing on a small fluffy brown and white dog seated in the center…” gives you much more control than a vague request. However, the structure is flexible—you can keep it simple when that’s all you need. By practicing with this format, you’ll learn to balance detail and creativity, ensuring you get closer to your desired images with every prompt.

Who This Is For

This lesson is valuable for anyone looking to have more control over AI-generated images using ChatGPT and DALL·E 3. It can benefit people who:

• Create content and need customized, on-brand visuals
• Use generative AI in art, design, or illustration work
• Want to improve communication with AI tools for better results
• Are beginning to experiment with text-to-image models
• Need images for educational, business, or marketing purposes
• Enjoy exploring creative projects with AI assistance

Where This Fits in a Workflow

Understanding prompt structure is most useful once you know what you want to create but before you generate your image. For example, if you have a concept for a poster or a website banner, structuring your prompt ensures important details—like composition and setting—aren’t missed. In another scenario, a teacher planning visual aids can list classroom themes or moods within the structure to better capture the classroom’s personality. Using this process helps you consistently communicate your ideas, whether you’re sending a prompt to ChatGPT for DALL·E 3 or another AI image creation tool.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

The “old way” of writing prompts often meant typing a few descriptive words and hoping the AI would understand. This usually produced unpredictable or generic images. By adopting a clear structure—Medium, Style, Composition, Scene, Setting/Atmosphere—you guide the AI just like you would guide a designer or illustrator. This approach saves time on revisions and reduces guesswork, resulting in images more closely matched to your intent. For example, marketers can ensure every branded image has the right atmosphere, while educators can request detailed diagrams that match lesson goals. Structured prompting turns a trial-and-error process into a repeatable, reliable workflow.

Practice Exercise

Try applying the prompt structure to a real scenario of your choice. Here’s how to get started:

1. Choose a subject you need an image for (such as a product, an event, or a pet).
2. Write a prompt using the format: Medium, Style, Composition, Scene, Setting/Atmosphere. For example, “Create a watercolor illustration in a whimsical style of three children flying kites in a grassy park. The scene is set on a breezy afternoon with colorful flowers and a bright blue sky.”
3. Compare your new structured prompt to a shorter one (like, “children flying kites in a park”) and reflect: Which prompt do you think will give the AI better instructions for your needs?

What differences do you expect in the images generated from each prompt?

Course Context Recap

This lesson focuses on organizing your ideas so ChatGPT and DALL·E 3 can generate the images you picture in your mind. Previously, you saw how to use tools and basic prompting. Now, you have a practical structure for writing prompts that get better results. Up next, you’ll use your new skills to practice and adjust prompts for even greater creativity and precision. Continue through the course to build confidence and discover how structured prompting makes AI image creation more useful and enjoyable.