GCSE
Goal · Context · Source · Expectations — Microsoft’s own framework for Copilot. The only common framework with a first-class slot for which of your files to read.
Use it for
Any assistant that is grounded in your own documents, mail, or chat history — Microsoft 365 Copilot above all, but the shape transfers to any tool with file access or retrieval.
Avoid it for
Open creative work with nothing to ground against. With an empty Source slot, GCSE is just a wordier RACE.
The slots
Each letter is a question the prompt has to answer.Goal
What do you want back?
Microsoft: a clear goal is the only strictly required part. Name the deliverable, not the topic.
Example: Summarise where the Q3 migration project stands and what is blocking it.
Context Optional
Who is it for and why?
Audience, purpose, and what they already know. This is what stops a summary from restating things your reader wrote themselves.
Example: For the steering group, who see this once a month and were told in June that the migration was on track.
Source Optional
What should it read?
Point at specific files, threads, meetings, or a date range. Vague sources ("our docs") get vague grounding.
Example: The Migration Status deck, the #q3-migration Teams channel from August onward, and my email thread with the vendor.
Expectations Optional
How should it be delivered?
Microsoft groups tone and format here. Say the length, the structure, and the register.
Example: Under 200 words, three headings — Done, In progress, Blocked — plain register, name owners for each blocker.
Strengths
- Documented by Microsoft, so it matches how Copilot actually behaves.
- The Source slot is the single biggest lever against hallucination in enterprise use.
- Microsoft is explicit that only the Goal is strictly required, so it degrades gracefully.
Weaknesses
- No role and no tone slot; both have to ride along inside Expectations.
- The Source slot is only as good as the tool’s actual access to those files.
- Written for Copilot; on API models you must paste the source text yourself.
Sources and grounding
- 1Get started writing prompts in Microsoft 365 CopilotMicrosoft SupportMicrosoft’s own definition of the four prompt parts and the note that only a clear goal is required.
- 2The building blocks of a good Copilot prompt (quick reference guide, PDF)MicrosoftOne-page Microsoft-published reference card.