By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Write a prompt that states the task, context, audience and format.
- Improve a weak reply by giving feedback instead of starting again.
- Verify a factual claim by finding it in at least one trustworthy source.
- Check an AI summary against the original text.
- Keep a short record of how you used AI in a piece of work.
The same AI tool can give a vague, useless answer or a helpful one, depending mostly on what you ask. A clear request saves time. Equally important, a good answer still has to be checked before you rely on it. In this lesson you practise both halves: asking well and then verifying, using safe, made-up examples.
What a prompt is
A prompt is the text you give an AI tool to respond to. (This is not the same as the terminal prompt you met in the command-line lessons.) The tool cannot see your situation, your school or your plans. It only has your words. So a good prompt supplies what a helpful person would need to know if you asked them the same thing across a table.
Compare two requests. "Write about water" could mean a poem, a science report or an advert. "Explain to a 12-year-old, in five short sentences, why water boils faster at a high altitude" tells the tool what to do, for whom and in what shape.
A four-part pattern
You do not need clever tricks. Four plain parts cover most requests.
Rewrite this email to be more polite.TaskWhat you want doneIt is from a tenant to a landlord about a leaking tap, and I do not want to sound angry.ContextThe situationThe landlord is busy.AudienceWho will read itKeep it under 100 words with a short subject line.FormatShape of the answerRead this figure as text
A sentence split into four labelled parts: task, context, audience and format.
An example prompt split into four parts. Task: Rewrite this email to be more polite. Context: It is from a tenant to a landlord about a leaking tap and I do not want to sound angry. Audience: The landlord, who is busy. Format: Keep it under 100 words and use a short subject line.
| Weak prompt | Stronger prompt | What improved |
|---|---|---|
| Help me with my CV | Check this CV paragraph for spelling and clarity. Do not add new facts. Show your changes as a list. | Clear task, a limit that prevents inventions, a format. |
| Explain spreadsheets | Explain the SUM function to a complete beginner in four steps, using a shop-sales example. | Audience, number of steps, example. |
| Summarise this | Summarise the text below in five bullet points for a busy manager. Quote the sentence that supports each point. | Reader, size, and evidence you can check. |
| Is this safe? | Here is a made-up email (educational simulation). List the signs it could be phishing, then say what I should do. | Context and what to deliver. |
Iterating: improve the reply by talking back
Your first prompt rarely gives the perfect result, and that is normal. Instead of starting from nothing, reply with specific feedback. "Shorter" works, but "Cut it to three sentences and remove the second paragraph" works better. Tell the tool what was good, what was wrong and what to change.
- AskTask, context, reader, format
- Read criticallyWhat is missing or doubtful?
- RefineGive specific feedback
- CheckVerify facts with sources
Read this figure as text
A cycle of asking, reading critically, giving feedback and checking.
A repeating cycle of four steps. Ask: write a clear prompt. Read: read the reply critically, asking what is missing or doubtful. Refine: give specific feedback, such as shorten, change tone or use only my text. Check: verify the facts against sources. After checking, go round again if needed, or stop when the result is accurate and useful.
Verifying: do not trust, confirm
Checking means leaving the chat and finding the claim somewhere you can trust. The skills from the lesson on evaluating sources apply directly. A good habit is to separate any answer into claims, which are things that could be true or false, then check the ones that matter.
Verify one claim
Step 1: Pick the claim
Example: the chatbot says "The Great Rift Valley stretches for about 6,000 kilometres." Underline the exact fact: the name and the number.
You should see: You have one specific sentence to test, not a vague feeling.
Step 2: Search for it yourself
Open your browser and search using plain words, such as the name and the figure. Do not type the chatbot's words as proof; search for the fact.
You should see: You see several results from different websites.
Step 3: Prefer primary or official sources
Choose pages from encyclopaedias, universities, governments or the organisation concerned. A primary source is the original or official place a fact comes from.
You should see: At least one reputable page names the same fact.
Step 4: Compare
Do the sources agree with the chatbot on the name, number and date? If they differ, the sources win.
You should see: You write 'confirmed', 'differs' or 'cannot confirm' next to the claim.
Step 5: Record the source
Note the page title, publisher and web address, so you can cite it. Cite the source you read, not the chatbot.
You should see: A short note you could paste into a bibliography.
- Official site of the organisation
- Government or university pages
- Encyclopaedias and reference books
- Several independent sources that agree
Use these to confirm.
- The chatbot itself
- Anonymous posts
- Pages with no author or date
- A page copying the chatbot's words
Do not rely on these.
Read this figure as text
A comparison of strong sources and weak sources for checking an AI claim.
Two columns. Stronger sources: the official website of the organisation concerned, government or university pages, established encyclopaedias and reference books, and several independent sources that agree. Weaker sources: the chatbot itself, anonymous posts, pages with no named author or date, and a single page that copies the chatbot's wording.
When you ask for a summary of a text you pasted, check it against the original. Look for points added that were not in the text, important points left out, changed numbers and a different tone. A good prompt asks the tool to quote supporting sentences, which makes this check quick.
A worked example, start to finish
Amina wants to understand how a bank's fictional "Savings Plus" account works. She does not paste any account numbers. She types: "Explain to a beginner, in five bullet points, how compound interest works, with one example of 1,000 shillings at 5 per cent a year for two years. Say if you are unsure." The tool answers with a clear explanation and works out 1,102.50 shillings.
Amina then checks the sum herself: 1,000 multiplied by 1.05 is 1,050, and 1,050 multiplied by 1.05 is 1,102.50. She also confirms the idea of compound interest on an educational website. Only then does she use the example in her notes, and she writes "explanation drafted with AI, calculation and concept checked by me" at the top. That last line takes five seconds and keeps her honest.
AI use record
Tool: (name of the chatbot)
Date: 12 March
What I asked for: explanation of compound interest, one worked example
What I changed: rewrote the example in my own words
What I checked: calculation (done by hand), concept (educational website)
What I did not use: the tool's list of references (could not find them)Common mistakes
✖ Instead of: Starting a new chat every time the answer is not perfect.
✔ Do this: Reply with specific feedback in the same chat. Say what to change and what to keep.
✖ Instead of: Writing one very short prompt and blaming the tool for a vague reply.
✔ Do this: Add the task, context, reader and format. The tool only knows what you tell it.
✖ Instead of: Citing the chatbot as the source of a fact.
✔ Do this: Find the real source, read it, and cite that. A chatbot is not a source of evidence.
If something goes wrong
- The reply ignores part of my request.
- Split the request into numbered parts, or ask for one thing at a time. Then ask the tool to confirm which parts it has covered.
- The reply is too long or too general.
- Add limits: a word count, a number of bullets, a named reader. Ask it to remove anything that is not essential.
- I cannot find any source for a claim.
- Treat it as unconfirmed. Do not use it in work you submit or share. Try different search words, or ask a teacher or librarian.
Key terms
- Prompt (AI)
- The text you give an AI tool so it knows what to produce.
- primary source
- A primary source is the original evidence or the body that first published the information, such as a law, a data table or an official notice.
- citation
- A citation is a short note that tells the reader exactly where a quotation, fact or image came from.
- Hallucination
- When an AI tool states something false as if it were true.
Practise it for real
Reading is not the same as being able to do it. Complete these on your own computer, then tick only what you have actually done. These ticks are your own honest record: nothing checks them for you.
Rewrite three weak prompts
On paper or in a text editor, rewrite each weak prompt using the four-part pattern (task, context, audience, format): 1) "Write about my town." 2) "Fix my essay." 3) "Tell me about plants." Invent harmless details. Underline each of the four parts in your new prompts.
Challenge: verify three claims
Take three factual claims from any AI reply you are allowed to use, or from this list: "Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania", "The Great Rift Valley stretches for about 6,000 km", "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at all altitudes". Verify each using a search engine and a trustworthy source. For each, write the verdict (confirmed, differs, cannot confirm) and the source title and publisher.
Knowledge check
6 questions. You need 80% to pass. Mistakes here are part of learning, and you can retry as often as you like.
Summary
- A prompt is only the words you give. Include task, context, audience and format.
- Improve a reply by giving specific feedback, not by starting again.
- Break an answer into claims and verify the important ones in independent, trusted sources.
- Compare summaries with the original text and ask for supporting quotes.
- Cite the real source, and note how you used AI.
Checklist: can you do these?
Marking a lesson as read does not prove you can do it. Skills count as demonstrated when you pass the quiz (not yet) and complete the practical tasks (not yet).
Related lessons
References and further reading
Official sources for details that can change between versions.
- Machine learning glossary (Google for Developers)
- Top tips for staying secure online (UK National Cyber Security Centre)