Data summarization: tables and simple calcs
Day 18 of 30 · 30 Days of AI
Turn structured data into insights safely
Learning goal
- Summarize a small dataset into a table with totals/percentages.
- Add a short insight paragraph with caveats.
Why it matters
- Structured summaries beat raw dumps.
- Caveats prevent over-trust in derived numbers.
Explanation
- Provide data inline (small) or describe columns.
- Ask for: table with totals/percentages, 3 insights, 2 caveats.
- Forbid invented data.
Examples
- Prompt: “Here is data (rows). Create a table with totals/% per category. Then 3 insights + 2 caveats. Do not invent missing values.”
- Weak: “Analyze this.”
- Paste a small CSV-like snippet or describe 2–3 columns.
- Request table + insights + caveats.
- Table present with totals/%.
- 3 insights stated.
- 2 caveats stated; no invented data.
- Data prompt tips: prompt guide
Guided exercise (10–15 min)
Independent exercise (5–10 min)
Add a formatting constraint (markdown table) and rerun; check math.