CRYSTAL — Template Institute

Template Institute Library of Frameworks

A reading room for prompt scaffolds. Roll up either panel to browse.

In the library —

A small collection of other prompt scaffolds. CRYSTAL is one shape among many; each has its own mood, setting, and cadence. Try one on.

Six frameworks

CO·STAR

Singapore GovTech

C: Context
O: Objective
S: Style
T: Tone
A: Audience
R: Response

“A clean six-facet scaffold prized for separating objective from style and tone.”

RISEN

Role-led

R: Role
I: Input
S: Steps
E: Expectation
N: Narrowing

“Names the persona first, then walks the model through a stepwise process.”

RACE

Four facets

R: Role
A: Action
C: Context
E: Expectation

“A compact scaffold — enough structure for quick, single-purpose prompts.”

CRISPE

Experimental

C: Capacity
R: Role
I: Insight
S: Statement
P: Personality
E: Experiment

“An explicit experiment slot invites variations before committing to one answer.”

APE

Minimalist

A: Action
P: Purpose
E: Expectation

“Three facets. For prompts that should not need more.”

A field guide to CRYSTAL

Seven facets, each addressing a different kind of ambiguity. Read straight through, or skim to the letter that feels weakest in your current draft.

I · Context

The situation the model walks into.

What should the model already know before it answers?

Set the stage. Briefly describe the situation, the background, the medium, the constraints of the world the prompt lives in. Context is what you'd say if a new collaborator joined the project mid-meeting.

Example

A cardiology clinic is launching a bilingual patient portal. Current copy is clinical and cold; patients feel unwelcome.

Avoid: Dumping every detail. Give just enough for the model to orient — one to three sentences.

II · Role

Who the model is, just for this draft.

Whose expertise, voice, or lens should the model borrow?

Give the model a role with specificity. “Act as a senior UX writer with a bedside-manner background” beats “be a good writer.” The role implies the knowledge, register, and taste.

Example

You are a bilingual health-communication designer who has published in Kinfolk and worked at the Mayo Clinic.

Avoid: Asking for roles the model can't credibly inhabit. Keep it humanly possible.

III · Yield

The shape of what comes back.

What artifact do you want — text, code, table, image brief, plan?

Declare the output form explicitly. Markdown? JSON? A numbered list of exactly five items? A storyboard with timestamps? The yield is where sloppy prompts leak most value.

Example

Return a two-column table: left column in English, right column in Spanish. Four rows.

Avoid: Leaving format to chance. The model will guess — and guess badly.

IV · Style

The register and cadence.

How should it sound? What's the mood?

Name the voice. Terse and Hemingway-direct? Warm and conversational? Academic with footnote restraint? Cite a reference if it helps: “in the voice of The New Yorker's Talk of the Town.”

Example

Warm, short sentences. Second-person. No jargon. Light humor, never flippant.

Avoid: Vague adjectives like “professional” or “engaging.” Be concrete.

V · Task

The specific act to perform.

What must happen? One clear verb.

The task is the action the rest of the prompt orbits. “Rewrite,” “summarize in three bullets,” “draft a confirmation email,” “generate ten taglines.” Cut adverbs; keep the verb.

Example

Rewrite the portal welcome screen so a first-time bilingual patient feels greeted, not processed.

Avoid: Stacking three tasks into one prompt. Break them apart — or reorder by priority.

VI · Audience

Who receives the result.

Who is this for, and what do they already know?

Audience shapes vocabulary, examples, and assumptions. A prompt for physicians differs from one for patients with no medical training. Tell the model who's on the other side of the page.

Example

Patients ages 40–75 with type-2 diabetes. Eighth-grade reading level. Half are Spanish-dominant.

Avoid: Writing “for everyone.” There is no such audience — and the writing suffers.

VII · Limitations

Hard rails and red lines.

What must not happen? What's the budget?

Define negative space. Word count, forbidden phrases, regulatory constraints, tone pitfalls to avoid. This is where HIPAA, brand voice, and legal review live — tell the model before, not after.

Example

Under 90 words. No medical claims. Never use the words “fight” or “battle.” No emoji.

Avoid: Burying constraints at the end. Front-load the ones that matter most.

The atelier waits on the right.

Describe a real intent there — CRYSTAL will structure it into a multilingual, model-ready draft.

In the library —

CO·STAR

RISEN

RACE

CRISPE

APE

TAG