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Lesson 1: ChatGPT: Your AI Bestie

Set up ChatGPT, learn the one prompt formula that makes it useful, and turn lazy requests into answers you can actually use.

75 minutes

Lesson PDFWorksheetPrompt pack

Learning objectives

  • Set up a free ChatGPT account at chatgpt.com.
  • Know the difference between free and paid plans — free is enough for class; paid runs about $20/month and unlocks faster answers.
  • Understand why ChatGPT is the best first AI: fewer bugs, the biggest toolbox, and the easiest learning curve.
  • Use the magic formula: ROLE + TASK + DETAILS.
  • Turn a lazy prompt into a great one, and boss AI around: shorter, friendlier, in a table.
  • Spot when AI is confidently wrong.

The prompt formula: ROLE + TASK + DETAILS

Most bad prompts are just under-explained. Give ChatGPT a role, a clear task, and a few details, and the answer becomes dramatically better. Then keep refining with follow-ups like 'shorter,' 'friendlier,' or 'put it in a table.'

R

ROLE

Who should it act like? (e.g. a friendly email coach, a patient tutor, a marketing writer)

T

TASK

What exactly do you want done? (e.g. write 5 headlines, summarize a doc, say no to a meeting)

D

DETAILS

What are the constraints? (e.g. under 80 words, playful tone, for a 10-year-old, in a table)

Weak prompt

“Write me something about my bakery.”

Strong prompt

“Act as a playful marketing writer. Write 5 headline options for a neighborhood bakery. Keep each under 8 words. Make them warm and fun.”

Hands-on exercise · Train ChatGPT with the formula30 min

  1. 1Set up a free ChatGPT account at chatgpt.com. Free plans are enough for this class.
  2. 2If you later want faster answers, the paid plan is about $20/month — but only upgrade after you've used the free version for a week.
  3. 3Copy the starter prompt below and paste it into ChatGPT.
  4. 4Ask ChatGPT something you're an expert in. Spot where it gets something wrong.
  5. 5Write a lazy one-liner request. Notice the boring answer.
  6. 6Rewrite it with ROLE + TASK + DETAILS and run it again.
  7. 7Say 'shorter', then 'friendlier', then 'put it in a table'. Save the winner.

Try these prompts

  • Explain what you do in one paragraph a 10-year-old would get.
  • Act as a friendly email coach. Write a polite no to a meeting, under 80 words.
  • Act as a marketing writer. 5 headlines for a bakery, playful, under 8 words each.
  • Act as a research assistant. Summarize this document into 5 bullets and 3 open questions.

Completion checklist

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