A user is trying to get a language model to continue a sci-fi story but is receiving generic and unfocused responses. Analyze the user's prompt below and identify which of the three key components of a full prompt is missing, explaining how its absence leads to the poor output.

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A complete prompt for a story continuation task can be structured in three parts. First, a persona is assigned to the model, such as 'You are a writer who is great at writing stories.' Second, a clear instruction is given, like 'You are provided with a few sentences to start with. Please continue the story from the provided sentences.' Finally, a header such as 'Start of the story:' is used to introduce the initial text, signaling to the model where the story begins.

Example of a Full Prompt for Story Continuation

A user wants a language model to continue a short fantasy story. Based on best practices for structuring a complete prompt, which of the following options is the most effective?

A user provides the following text to a language model, hoping it will continue the story: 'The old lighthouse stood alone on the cliff, its beam cutting through the thick fog. A ship's horn blared mournfully in the distance.' The user is disappointed with the model's output, which is short and lacks a clear narrative direction. Based on the principles of crafting a complete and effective prompt, identify the two main components that are missing from the user's input and explain why their inclusion would lead to a better story continuation.

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