# TCAI Benchmark — 50 Prompts

Each prompt is self-contained and runnable as-is (materials included inline). Every prompt runs through the **standard Tusk system prompt** (`tusk-system-prompt.txt`), with `<CURRENT_DATE>` substituted at call time. Two runs per model.

**Categories:** Writing (W), Research (R), Reasoning (RE), Everyday work (E), Speed (S) — 10 each.

**Note on the "50" count:** the internal protocol treated *speed* as timed-across-the-other-40 rather than its own set. I made it a real 10 short prompts so the "50 prompts" headline is literally true and we get a clean latency read. Median latency is still computed across all 50. Merge S into the others if you'd rather publish "40."

**`:online`** = append to slug so real web search backs the answer. Applied to Research only (see answer-key.md for the alternative "no-online" fabrication test).

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## Writing (W) — subjective, LLM-judge + human

**W1** — Rewrite the following email to sound warm and human while staying professional. Keep it under 120 words.
> Dear Mr. Johnson, Per my previous correspondence dated the 14th instant, I am writing to inform you that the deliverables enumerated in our agreement have not yet been received by our department. Kindly be advised that failure to remit said materials by the end of the current business week may result in the imposition of penalties as stipulated in section 4.2 of the executed contract. Your immediate attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated. Regards, A. Smith

**W2** — Write a LinkedIn post (150–200 words, first person) from these bullets. Confident but not boastful. No hashtags.
> - Shipped our new analytics dashboard after 6 months
> - Hardest part was making complex data feel simple
> - Shoutout to our 4-person design team
> - We're hiring two more engineers

**W3** — Here is a writing sample that shows my voice:
> "Look, nobody actually reads the terms of service. We all just scroll and click. So we rewrote ours to be three sentences long. Radical, I know."
In that same voice, write a 2–3 sentence announcement that our app now works offline.

**W4** — Tighten this draft to about 120 words without losing the key points:
> We are thrilled and genuinely excited to announce that, after many long months of hard work and dedication from every single member of our wonderful and talented team, we are finally in a position to be able to share with all of you the news that our brand-new customer portal is now live and available for use. This portal, which we have been developing for quite some time now, is designed from the ground up to make it significantly easier for our valued customers to manage their accounts, view their invoices, track their orders in real time, and get in touch with our support team whenever they need help. We really do believe that this is going to make a meaningful difference in the day-to-day experience of working with us, and we cannot wait to hear what you think about it once you have had a chance to try it out for yourself.

**W5** — Write an apology email to a client. We missed the agreed delivery date by a week due to an internal mistake (not their fault); the client is frustrated. Be sincere, take responsibility, offer a concrete next step, don't grovel. Under 130 words.

**W6** — Write a 60-word product description for a stainless-steel insulated water bottle that keeps drinks cold 24h and hot 12h. Lead with the benefit, not the specs. Include one line of sensory detail.

**W7** — Rewrite this for a general audience with no technical background, in 2–3 sentences:
> Our platform leverages a distributed microservices architecture with event-driven pub/sub messaging to enable horizontally scalable, fault-tolerant data ingestion pipelines.

**W8** — Write 3 subject-line options (under 8 words each) for a re-engagement email to users inactive for 60 days: one curiosity-driven, one benefit-driven, one urgency-driven. Label which is which.

**W9** — A customer named Priya left detailed, constructive feedback about our onboarding flow. Write a genuine thank-you email (under 90 words) that acknowledges she gave specifics, without being sycophantic.

**W10** — Write a 100-word first-person professional bio from these facts: 12 years in product management; previously at two startups (one acquired); now leads a team of 15; passionate about mentoring; based in Austin; enjoys trail running. Warm, credible tone.

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## Research (R) — run with `:online`; citations + accuracy scored

**R1** — In what year was the Eiffel Tower completed, and how tall is it including antennas? Cite your sources.

**R2** — What is the boiling point of water at sea level, in both Celsius and Fahrenheit? Cite a source.

**R3** — Who was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, and for what? Cite your sources.

**R4** — As of the most recent available estimate, what is the population of Japan, and is it increasing or decreasing? Give the figure and year, and cite sources.

**R5** — How many kilometers are in 100 miles? Show the conversion factor and cite a source for it.

**R6** — Summarize the main documented health effects of the Mediterranean diet in 4–5 points, with a citation for each claim.

**R7** — Explain the GDPR "right to erasure" (right to be forgotten): what it is and its main limitations. Cite official sources.

**R8** — What is the current scientific consensus on moderate, daily and heavy coffee consumption and health? Summarize and cite authoritative sources.

**R9** — Explain the practical difference between HTTP and HTTPS for a website owner, and cite a source.

**R10** — What causes inflation, and what tools do central banks use to control it? Summarize and cite authoritative sources.

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## Reasoning (RE) — objective, answer-key gradable

**RE1** — A train travels 240 miles in 3 hours, then 180 miles in 2 hours. What is its average speed for the entire trip? Show your work.

**RE2** — After a 20% discount, a jacket costs $40. What was the original price? Show your work.

**RE3** — If 3 workers build a wall in 12 hours, how long would 4 workers take to build the same wall working at the same rate? Show your work.

**RE4** — You deposit $1,000 at 5% interest compounded annually. What is the balance after 3 years? Round to the nearest cent and show your work.

**RE5** — All roses are flowers. Some flowers fade quickly. Does it logically follow that some roses fade quickly? Explain.

**RE6** — Ann, Beth, and Cara finished a race in distinct positions. Ann did not finish first. Beth finished immediately ahead of Ann. Cara did not finish last. Who finished in each position?

**RE7** — A bat and a ball cost $1.10 together. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

**RE8** — Minimize total time to finish these tasks, one at a time, respecting dependencies: A (2h, no deps); B (3h, needs A); C (1h, no deps); D (2h, needs B and C). Give a valid order and the total time.

**RE9** — Schedule three 30-minute meetings between 9:00 and 12:00 in 30-min slots: Z must be at 11:00; X must occur before Y. Give a valid schedule.

**RE10** — You land at 1:35 PM with a connecting flight departing at 3:00 PM from the same airport. Clearing customs takes 25 minutes, the walk to your departure gate takes 15 minutes, and boarding closes 20 minutes before departure. Will you make the connection? Show your reasoning.

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## Everyday work (E) — mixed objective / rubric

**E1** — Write a spreadsheet formula (Excel/Sheets) that sums all values in column B where the matching cell in column A equals "Paid".

**E2** — Turn these rough notes into a clean 4-item agenda with time allocations for a 60-minute meeting: *q3 numbers, the hiring freeze thing, new tool rollout, open floor.*

**E3** — Extract every date and its associated obligation from this excerpt, as a list:
> The Provider shall deliver the initial draft by March 3, 2026. The Client shall provide feedback within ten business days. Final materials are due no later than April 15, 2026. Payment of the remaining balance is due on May 1, 2026.

**E4** — Explain this to a non-technical manager in 2 sentences:
> We need to refactor the monolith into microservices to reduce deployment coupling and improve our mean time to recovery.

**E5** — Build a one-day Paris itinerary. Constraints: start 9:00, end by 17:00, must include the Louvre and a 1-hour lunch, no more than 30 min total walking between stops. Present as a timed schedule.

**E6** — Summarize this thread into exactly 3 action items with owners:
> Sam: can someone start the budget draft? Lee: finance needs final headcount by Friday first. Sam: ok, I'll send headcount. Lee: great, I'll loop in finance once I have it. Priya: please let me review before it goes out.

**E7** — Write a polite 2–3 sentence reply declining a 30-minute meeting invite and proposing to handle it over email instead.

**E8** — Convert this into a prioritized to-do list with rough time estimates: *reply to the lawyer, book flights for the conference, review the design mockups, update the pitch deck before Thursday.*

**E9** — Write a spreadsheet formula that looks up the price of the product named in cell D2 from a table in columns A (names) and B (prices).

**E10** — Rewrite these notes as a 3-line status update using Red/Amber/Green for schedule, budget, and scope: *we're a week behind on schedule, budget is fine, scope hasn't changed.*

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## Speed (S) — short prompts, exact answers, latency-focused

**S1** — What is 15% of 240?

**S2** — Give me a one-sentence definition of "opportunity cost."

**S3** — What is the capital of Australia?

**S4** — Convert 72°F to Celsius, to the nearest degree.

**S5** — Name three primary colors.

**S6** — Give a synonym for "meticulous."

**S7** — Spell "necessary."

**S8** — What is 12 × 11?

**S9** — Write a haiku about coffee.

**S10** — What day comes two days after Sunday?
