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Phase 1 · Your First Win

Getting Specific (Without Writing an Essay)

5 screens · 1 checklist to steal

Vague in, vague out.

The formula from the prompt-formula lesson is the skeleton. Specificity is the muscle. Without it, even a well-structured prompt gets you answers that are technically correct and completely useless.

Here's the test: look at your prompt and ask, "Could this prompt have been written by any mom on earth?" If yes, it's too vague. You want Claude answering your life, not a generic one.

One small swap, sharper answers

Swap one vague word for one specific detail and the answer quality jumps. You're about to see it happen to your own prompt by the end of this lesson.

Words that quietly ruin prompts.

These sound fine. They are fine in normal conversation. But they force Claude to guess, and guessing means generic.

Vague words to replace

  • "some" · "a few"
  • "healthy"
  • "quick" · "easy"
  • "nice" · "good"
  • "soon"
  • "cheap"
  • "not too long"
  • "help with"

Specific swaps

  • "3" · "5" (give a number)
  • "under 500 calories / no sugar / high protein"
  • "under 20 minutes / one pan only"
  • "kid-friendly / warm but direct"
  • "by Friday 6pm"
  • "under $15 total"
  • "3 sentences max"
  • "draft / list / plan / explain"

Why this matters

"Healthy" means a hundred different things to a hundred people. "Under 500 calories, high protein, no sugar" means exactly one thing. You don't have to be perfectly precise — you just have to be less vague than the average person. That's a low bar, and it pays off instantly.

The Specificity Checklist.

Before you hit enter, glance at this list. Any piece you can fill in — fill it in. Skipping is fine; ambiguity is not.

1

Who

Who's the answer for? Your 6-year-old. Your dad. A teacher. Your husband. You at 10pm. Name the audience.

2

What

What's the actual output? A list. A reply. A plan. 3 options. A 200-word draft. Name the deliverable.

3

When / How long

By when do you need this? Or how much time/money/energy do you have? 20 minutes. $30. Due Tuesday. Two-hour window.

4

Format

How should it come back? Bullets. A table. A paragraph. A checklist. 5 sentences max. Say what you want.

You don't need all four

Two or three is usually plenty. The checklist isn't homework — it's a sanity check. Look at your draft, ask "who / what / when / format," fill whichever ones apply.

"Help with the weekend" — rewritten.

Watch what the checklist does to a real, messy prompt.

Before
Help me with the weekend.

Claude has no idea what "the weekend" means to you. Are we planning, surviving, or celebrating? Let's run the checklist: who = me + two kids + a tired husband. What = a realistic schedule. When = Saturday + Sunday, two hours free each morning. Format = a simple time-by-time plan.

After
Act as my weekend planner. Make me a loose Sat-Sun plan for me, a tired husband, and kids ages 4 and 8. Consider this: we have about 2 free hours each morning, one big errand (Costco), and nothing required Sunday afternoon. I want at least one outdoor thing and one slow moment just for me. Give it back as a simple time-blocked list (morning / afternoon / evening for each day). Skip meals — I'll plan those separately.

You can see everything Claude needs to produce something actually useful: the people, the constraints, a shape for the answer, and one thing I quietly want to protect for myself. Not a single extra word beyond what's needed.

Your turn. Pick a prompt and upgrade it.

Think of something you're about to ask Claude today. Run it through the checklist. Spend 30 seconds rewriting.

Use this as your edit template
Act as my [role]. Do this: [clear deliverable with a number or shape]. Consider this: it's for [who], I have [time / budget / energy constraint], and I want [any must-haves or can't-haves]. Format: [bullets / plan / draft / paragraph — pick one].

What you can do now

  • Spot vague words and replace them on the fly
  • Run the who / what / when / format check in 10 seconds
  • Turn a useless prompt into a useful one without writing more — just differently
  • Stop blaming Claude for generic answers (you own the prompt)

Next up: The Follow-Up Habit

No first draft is perfect. The difference between pros and frustrated beginners: pros iterate. Learn the four follow-ups that fix almost any answer — without starting over.

Continue to The Follow-Up Habit →