🏆 Level 4 · Expert
📘 Chapter 1
⏱️ 17 minutes
Prompt Lab: Advanced Prompting
Level up your prompts like a scientist: add examples, set rules, ask Claude to plan and check, then test and save your best recipes.
🔁 Remember: 🎭 Role 🎯 Task 📌 Details 📐 Format Now add: ➕ Examples and ➕ Rules!
👨👩👧
Reminder: Practise with a parent or teacher nearby. Use your own notes and made-up examples, never personal details. Claude can still be wrong, so keep checking important facts.
Your lab bench
Chapter 1 at a glance
📋
1.1 Show examples
🎯 Goal: teach Claude your style with one or two samples- Instead of only telling Claude what you want, show it one or two examples.
- Examples teach style, length and format faster than long instructions.
- Label them clearly: “Example input” and “Example output”.
- Use examples from your own notes or make up simple ones. Then ask for new ones in the same style.
📋 With an example vs without
❌ Without
“Write 3 riddles about animals.”
✅ With example
“Write 3 riddles about animals in this style: I have a trunk but no suitcase. Who am I? Keep each under 20 words.”
💡 Why it works
Claude copies the tone, length and pattern of your example.
🌍 Real-life examples
📖 DefinitionsShow one definition you like from your science book and ask for 5 more in the same style.
🎤 Quiz stylePaste one quiz question you like and ask for 5 new ones on a different topic in the same style.
🚀 Try it yourself
Here is an example of the style I like. Example input: “Photosynthesis”. Example output: “Plants making food from sunlight, water and air.” Now do the same for: respiration, evaporation, condensation. Keep each under 12 words.
❌ Weak“Write some definitions.”
No style to copy.
No style to copy.
✅ Good“Here is one example. Write 5 more in the same style.”
Claude copies the pattern.
Claude copies the pattern.
🎉 Fun fact: Giving examples in a prompt is sometimes called few-shot prompting. “Few” usually means one to three!
📝 Quick quiz
1. What does an example teach Claude?
✅ The style, length and format you want.
2. How many examples are usually enough?A) 1 to 3 B) 100
✅ A. One to three is usually plenty.
3. Why label “Example input” and “Example output”?
✅ So Claude knows which part is which.
📏
1.2 Set rules and limits
🎯 Goal: use constraints to get safer, sharper answers- Rules, also called constraints, tell Claude what to include, what to avoid and how long to go.
- Add a length, a level, a “do not” and an unsure rule.
- Say “If you are not sure, say so instead of guessing.” It helps against made-up facts.
- For homework help add “Do not give the final answer. Give one hint.”
🧰 Four handy rules
📏
Length
“Under 80 words”
keeps it short🎓
Level
“Words a Class 6 student knows”
keeps it simple🚫
Do not
“Do not give the final answer”
keeps you learning🤷
Unsure rule
“If unsure, say so”
fights guessing🌍 Real-life examples
🧮 Maths practice“Give me a hint only. Do not show the answer until I say I give up.”
🌍 History“Use only facts you are sure about. If you are not sure, say: I’m not sure.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Explain how magnets work for Class 6. Rules: under 100 words, use simple words, add one everyday example, and if you are not sure about something, say so instead of guessing.
❌ Weak“Explain magnets.”
Could be too long or too hard.
Could be too long or too hard.
✅ Good“Explain magnets for Class 6 in under 100 words. Say if you are unsure.”
Clear rules.
Clear rules.
🏆 Mini challenge: Take a prompt you used before and add 3 rules. Does the answer improve?
📝 Quick quiz
1. What is a constraint?
✅ A rule such as length, level or something to avoid.
2. Which rule helps against made-up facts?A) “Be creative” B) “If you are unsure, say so”
✅ B. An unsure rule is honest and safe.
3. Write a rule that makes Claude give hints only.
✅ Example: “Do not give the final answer. Give one hint at a time.”
🔄
1.3 Plan, answer, check
🎯 Goal: make Claude think in steps and check its work- For harder tasks ask Claude to plan first, then answer, then check its own work.
- Ask for 2 different ways to solve something, then compare them.
- Ask “What could be wrong with this answer?” It helps you spot mistakes.
- Claude’s check is helpful but not perfect. You still verify in your book.
🔄 The Plan-Answer-Check loop
🗺️1. Planlist the steps
➜
✍️2. Answerfollow the plan
➜
🔎3. Checklook for mistakes
➜
✨4. Improvefix and finish
🌍 Real-life examples
🔢 Word problem“First write your plan in 3 steps. Then solve. Then check each step.”
📜 Essay start“Give me two different ways to start my essay and the strengths of each.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Help me with this problem for Class 7: [paste your problem]. First write a 3-step plan. Then solve it step by step. Then check your own answer and tell me what could be wrong. Stop after each step and wait for me.
❌ Weak“Solve this.”
Only an answer, no checking.
Only an answer, no checking.
✅ Good“Plan first, solve step by step, then check your answer.”
Mistakes get caught.
Mistakes get caught.
🎉 Fun fact: Asking for steps can help with tricky problems. But the steps can contain mistakes too, so read them carefully!
📝 Quick quiz
1. What are the 3 stages of the loop before improving?
✅ Plan, answer and check.
2. Is Claude’s own check always right?A) Yes B) No, I still verify
✅ B. Always verify in your book or with your teacher.
3. Why ask for two different ways?
✅ You can compare them and understand the idea better.
📓
1.4 Test and save templates
🎯 Goal: improve prompts one change at a time and keep the best- Great prompts are tested. Change one thing at a time and see what improves.
- Keep a prompt notebook: version, what you changed and how the answer turned out.
- Turn your best prompts into templates with [brackets] you can fill in.
- Share templates with classmates, but never include personal details.
📓 Your lab notebook
v1
“Explain fractions.” → too general
v2 + level
Added “for Class 6” → better, but still long
v3 + format
Added “in 4 steps with a pizza example” → just right
⭐ Template
“Explain [topic] for Class [x] in [n] steps with an example.”
🌍 Real-life examples
📘 Subject template“Quiz me on [topic] from my notes, one question at a time.”
🧩 Group labSwap templates with a friend, try each other’s and note what you would change.
🚀 Try it yourself
Help me turn this prompt into a reusable template with [brackets]: “[paste your best prompt]”. Then give me 3 ways to test it by changing only one thing at a time.
❌ WeakWriting a new prompt from scratch every time.
Slow, and different every time.
Slow, and different every time.
✅ GoodSaving a tested template and filling in the brackets.
Fast and reliable.
Fast and reliable.
🏆 Mini challenge: Save 3 templates in your notebook this week: one for explaining, one for quizzing and one for checking.
📝 Quick quiz
1. Why change only one thing at a time?
✅ So you know which change made the difference.
2. What do [brackets] mean in a template?A) Fill in your own words B) Type the brackets
✅ A. Replace them with your details.
3. What goes in a prompt notebook?
✅ The version, what you changed and how the answer was.
⚗️ Prompt Duel
Two prompts enter the lab with the same goal. Which one will get the better answer? Tap it! 6 duels. Can you win 5 or more?
🎯 THE GOAL
💡 Tip: There is not always one perfect prompt, but clear goals, details, examples and rules usually win. Ask your teacher if you disagree with an answer!
Chapter 1 summary
Show examples • Set rules • Plan, answer, check • Test and save templates.