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Start here · Beginner · 5 lessons, about 50 minutes in total

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.

Written by Jack Stovell · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 3 October 2026

Course cover: a printed prompt kit of three tested templates, with a hand sketching beside it and torn pink and orange paper
Course cover. The prompt kit is the real one from lesson 5; the bakery is a fictional example business.

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.

Fictional example business

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.

Our finished prompt kit for Brook Lane Bakes: three reusable, tested prompts with square brackets for the details.
The finished page from the course, printed as it came back from Claude.

Before you start

Time
5 lessons, about 50 minutes in total
Level
Beginner
Cost
Free.
Certificate
Certificate of completion, with its own verification link

Tools and what they cost

  • Claude (Free plan) or ChatGPT (Free plan)Trying every prompt in the courseChecked 3 October 2026 · sourceFree

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)

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

The lessons

Module 1

Say what you mean

Module badge: Clear asker

  1. Lesson 1: Why AI answers come back vagueSend 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.8 minReady to read
  2. Lesson 2: The four parts of a good promptTask, context, format and rules: what ChatGPT’s and Claude’s makers advise, and a real prompt built from all four.10 minReady to read
  3. Lesson 3: Show it an examplePaste in a couple of things you’ve written so the AI matches your style and length.10 minReady to read

Module 2

Fix it and keep it

Module badge: Prompt kit builder

  1. Lesson 4: Fix an answer you don’t likeSay what’s wrong in the same chat, let the AI ask you questions first, and give it permission to say it doesn’t know.10 minReady to read
  2. Lesson 5: Build your own prompt kitTurn your three most useful prompts into fill-in templates, test each on a real job, fix what falls short and save them together.12 minReady to read

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.

Completion is self-reported: we do not check your prompt kit. It is not an exam result, a qualification or an accreditation. How certificates work.

Questions about this course

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.

Sources, checked 3 October 2026