Lesson 3 of 5 · 10 minutes · Module 1: Say what you mean
Show it an example
Describing how you write is hard. Showing is easy. In this lesson you’ll paste in a couple of things you’ve written before, and ask the AI to write something new in the same style and at the same length.
You need
- A free ChatGPT or Claude account
- Two or three short things you’ve written before, such as emails or messages, with nothing private in them
A narrated walkthrough of this lesson is coming. The steps below cover everything in it.
Step 1 of 5
Why examples work
Anthropic says examples are one of the most reliable ways to steer the format, tone and structure of a reply. Its guide says to make them like your real task, and suggests three to five examples for best results. We used two in our example, just to keep it short.
Screenshot captured 3 October 2026. - Examples steer format, tone and structure
- Make them like your real task
- Three to five examples work best
CheckpointYou know why examples help, and how many to aim for.
Step 2 of 5
Find things you’ve written
Pick two or three short pieces you’re happy with, of the same kind as the new one you need. Then take out names, addresses, phone numbers and anything private before you paste them in.
CheckpointYou’ve got two or three examples with nothing private in them.
Step 3 of 5
Paste them in with clear labels
Put your examples first, each with a label so the AI can tell them apart from your request. Then add the new job and what you want to say. Ours shows two replies the baker had written before, then a new customer email.
The prompt · works in ChatGPT, Claude or any AI chat toolI run Brook Lane Bakes, a home bakery. Here are two replies I've written to customers before, so you can see how I write. --- Example 1 --- Hi Tom, Thanks so much for thinking of me! Yes, I can do a sourdough loaf for Saturday. Pop round any time between 8 and 1 and it'll be ready for you. See you then, Jo --- Example 2 --- Hi Mel, Lovely to hear from you. I'm afraid I'm fully booked for cakes that weekend, sorry. I've got space the weekend after if that's any help? Jo Now write my reply to this new email, in the same style. Keep it as short as my examples. New email: "Hi, can I collect my order on Sunday instead? I'm away on Saturday. Thanks, Hannah" What I want to say: I only do collections on Friday and Saturday, 8am to 1pm. Friday would work if that helps.The reply we got on 2026-10-03, unedited: three short lines, signed Jo. Read our reply.
Screenshot to come
We haven’t captured this step yet. We’d rather show nothing than an old or made-up screen.
CheckpointYour prompt has your examples, the new job and what you want to say.
Step 4 of 5
Compare the reply with your examples
Put the reply next to your examples and ask yourself: does it sound like you? Is it the same length? Ours was three lines, signed just “Jo”, with an “I’m afraid” and a “sorry” like the second example, and a question at the end. It also wrote the times as “8 till 1”, in the casual way the first example did.
Compare it with the two examples in the prompt. Read our reply.
CheckpointThe reply sounds like you, and says only what you told it to say.
Step 5 of 5
Keep your best examples
Save the examples that worked in a document. You’ll reuse them in your prompt kit in lesson 5, and you’ll be glad you kept them.
CheckpointYour best examples are saved somewhere you can find them.
Common problems
When you have finished
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Step 1 is Anthropic’s public guide, captured by tools/capture/prompting-for-beginners.mjs. Step 3 happens in a signed-in chat, so it has no screenshot yet; the prompt and reply are in outputs/.