--- title: "Prompting for beginners" url: https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/ summary: "Ask AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for what you actually want, and get it back first time more often. You’ll see why vague prompts get vague answers, learn the four parts of a good prompt, show the AI examples, fix answers you don’t like, and finish with your own tested prompt kit." level: "Beginner" lessons: 5 minutes: 50 published: 2026-10-03 updated: 2026-10-03 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: "en-GB" --- # Prompting for beginners Ask AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for what you actually want, and get it back first time more often. You’ll see why vague prompts get vague answers, learn the four parts of a good prompt, show the AI examples, fix answers you don’t like, and finish with your own tested prompt kit. Beginner · 5 lessons, about 50 minutes in total · Free. ## What you build Your own prompt kit: three reusable prompts for jobs you do every week, each tested on a real task, fixed where it fell short, and saved in one document. Our worked example is the kit for Brook Lane Bakes, a made-up home bakery. Brook Lane Bakes does not exist. We wrote the prompts; every reply quoted in this course is exactly what Claude sent back. Not for: Developers writing prompts for apps. This course is about chatting with AI tools, not building with them. ## Who it’s for - People who use AI chat but find the answers vague or generic - Anyone who has done "AI for beginners" - Small-business owners who write the same kinds of emails and posts every week ## What you need - A free ChatGPT or Claude account ("AI for beginners" lesson 2 shows you how) - A few real jobs you’d like help with: emails, posts, notices or checking your writing - No technical knowledge - A notes app or word processor to save your prompt kit in lesson 5 (one already on your device is fine) ## Tools and what they cost - **Claude (Free plan) or ChatGPT (Free plan)**: Trying every prompt in the course. Cost: Free. Claude’s Free plan is listed as "Free for everyone"; ChatGPT’s pricing page lists a Free plan, "Best for trying out ChatGPT". Either is enough. (checked 2026-10-03; source: https://claude.com/pricing) ## The lessons ### Module 1: Say what you mean 1. [Why AI answers come back vague](https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/why-answers-come-back-vague/) (8 minutes): Send the same job as a one-line prompt and as a specific one, and see what the AI guessed when you didn’t tell it. 2. [The four parts of a good prompt](https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/four-parts-of-a-good-prompt/) (10 minutes): Task, context, format and rules: what ChatGPT’s and Claude’s makers advise, and a real prompt built from all four. 3. [Show it an example](https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/show-it-an-example/) (10 minutes): Paste in a couple of things you’ve written so the AI matches your style and length. Module badge: Clear asker. Mark lessons 1, 2 and 3 of "Prompting for beginners" complete. ### Module 2: Fix it and keep it 4. [Fix an answer you don’t like](https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/fix-an-answer/) (10 minutes): Say what’s wrong in the same chat, let the AI ask you questions first, and give it permission to say it doesn’t know. 5. [Build your own prompt kit](https://aiguideson.com/courses/prompting-for-beginners/build-your-prompt-kit/) (12 minutes): Turn your three most useful prompts into fill-in templates, test each on a real job, fix what falls short and save them together. Module badge: Prompt kit builder. Mark lessons 4 and 5 of "Prompting for beginners" complete. ## At the end Finish all 5 lessons and you’ll get a certificate of completion, with its own verification link and an "Add certificate to LinkedIn profile" button. Prompt writer: Mark all 5 lessons of "Prompting for beginners" complete. Issued with a certificate of completion and as an Open Badges 3.0 credential. Completion is self-reported: we do not check your prompt kit. ## Sources - [OpenAI Help Center: Prompt engineering best practices for ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10032626-prompt-engineering-best-practices-for-chatgpt) (checked 2026-10-03) - [OpenAI Help Center: How do I create a good prompt for an AI model?](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/4936848-how-do-i-create-a-good-prompt-for-an-ai-model) (checked 2026-10-03) - [Claude Platform Docs: Prompting best practices](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/claude-prompting-best-practices) (checked 2026-10-03) - [Claude Platform Docs: Reduce hallucinations](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/test-and-evaluate/strengthen-guardrails/reduce-hallucinations) (checked 2026-10-03) - [Claude: Plans and pricing](https://claude.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-03) - [ChatGPT: Pricing](https://chatgpt.com/pricing/) (checked 2026-10-03) - [Claude Help Center: Who can view my conversations? (be mindful about sensitive information)](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8325621-i-would-like-to-input-sensitive-data-into-my-chats-with-claude-who-can-view-my-conversations) (checked 2026-10-03) ## Questions people ask ### Do these prompts work in ChatGPT and Claude? Yes. Both companies give the same basic advice: be clear and specific, give context, and refine as you go. Our example replies came from Claude, so yours will be worded differently. ### Do I need to learn special words or codes? No. Every prompt in this course is plain English, and the makers of both tools suggest writing to the AI the way you’d brief a person. ### Does a good prompt mean I don’t have to check the answer? No, and that’s the catch. In lesson 1, our best prompt still got a reply that promised something we never said. So read every line. ### Does it cost anything? No. The free plans of ChatGPT and Claude cover the whole course.