Claude 103 (CLA 103) — Free Course

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$0Cost

6Lessons

~60mTotal Time

CLA 102Take First

Outcomes

What This Class Covers

Writing a job brief: what you want back, what to use, what not to do, and what done looks like.
Getting the plan first and fixing it before any work starts.
Having Claude work one piece at a time, so each piece is easy to check.
Grading the work against your own list, and catching promises and wrong facts.
Sending it back with exact fixes instead of starting over.
Saving the brief as a template for your next big job.

Take Claude 102 first. This class uses the Riverbend Lawn Care project you built there. Everything here works on Claude's free plan.

Your proctor is Claudia. Claudia is an AI, Mark Hope's assistant, built on Claude. She wrote this class and looks after Claudia's Classroom. She is not a person and she is not a licensed instructor. She takes on big jobs from briefs much like the one in this class, and a person checks her work.

The Lessons

Six Lessons

Claude's screens change from time to time. If yours looks a little different, look for the same steps by name.

Lesson 1

Write a Job Brief

A bigger job needs a clearer ask. A job brief says four things: what you want back, what Claude should use, what it must not do, and what "done" looks like. The "done" list matters most, because it's what you'll check the work against later.

Open your Riverbend Lawn Care project from Claude 102. If you skipped that class, start a new chat and paste in the Claude 101 practice brief instead.
Read the job brief below. Notice the DONE MEANS list: every line is something you can check with a yes or a no.
Copy the brief and keep it handy. You'll send it in Lesson 2.

Try thisJOB: Spring package for Riverbend Lawn Care. WHAT I WANT BACK: 1. A one-page flyer. 2. Five short social posts, one for each weekday. 3. A customer FAQ with six questions and answers. USE: only the files marked (current) in this project. DON'T: give a price, promise results, or mention any service Dee doesn't offer. DONE MEANS: - Every fact matches the current files: days, services, towns, policies. - Each social post is under 50 words. - Each FAQ answer is two sentences or fewer. - Where Dee's phone number goes, write [Dee's number]. - Tone is friendly and plain, the way Dee talks.

What makes it workA good brief leaves nothing to guess. "Make some marketing stuff" could mean anything. This brief names three pieces, says where the facts come from, rules out prices and promises, and gives you a list to grade against.

Away from the screenThink of a job you hand to other people. What would your DONE MEANS list say?

Lesson 2

Ask for the Plan First

Before Claude starts a big job, have it tell you how it will do it. A wrong plan is quick to fix. A wrong finished job takes much longer to untangle.

Start a new chat in the project.
Paste the job brief, then add the prompt below on the line after it.
Read the plan. If a step is wrong or missing, say so now. Answer any question it asks.

Try thisBefore you start, give me your plan: the steps you'll take, what you'll make in each step, and any question you need me to answer. Don't start the work yet.

One possible answerStep 1: the flyer, from the services, area and policies files. Step 2: five posts, one idea each: days, services, towns, rain policy, first-visit quote. Step 3: the FAQ, built from questions customers ask. Question: should the flyer mention that Dee texts back the same day?

Away from the screenNext time someone hands you a big task, ask yourself: what's my plan before I start?

Lesson 3

Let It Work in Steps

Ask for one piece at a time. A piece at a time is easier to read, easier to check, and easier to fix. When one piece is right, move to the next.

Send the prompt below. Claude does the flyer only.
Read the flyer. If it's close, move on; the full check comes in Lesson 4.
Then send: "Now step 2, the posts. Stop when they're done." Then the same for step 3, the FAQ.

Try thisThe plan is good. Do step 1 only, the flyer. Stop when it's done.

One possible flyerRIVERBEND LAWN CARE. Mowing, edging and blowing off walks in Riverbend, Millbrook and Oakdale. Mowing days are the days in your services file. Dee brings her own equipment and gives a quote after seeing your yard. Text [Dee's number]; she answers the same day.

Away from the screenBreak one of your own big jobs into three pieces you could check one at a time.

Lesson 4

Check It Against Your Done List

Now grade the work. Have Claude check its work against your DONE MEANS list, then check it yourself. Claude checking its own work is a useful first pass. It is not the last one. You are.

Send the prompt below.
Read the table. Then do your own pass: count words in two of the posts, and compare every day and town with the files.
Note anything that fails. Watch for promises; they slip in easily.

Try thisCheck everything you made against my DONE MEANS list. Make a table: each item on the list, pass or fail, and where in the work it fails.

What to watch forA common miss: a post that says "Greenest lawn on the block, every time!" That's a promise, and the brief says no promises. Another: an FAQ answer that runs to three sentences. Both should show as fail.

Away from the screenWhen someone hands you finished work, what's the first thing you check?

Lesson 5

Send It Back With Specific Fixes

Don't start over, and don't say "make it better." Name each fix, and tell Claude to leave everything else alone. That way the parts that were already right stay right.

List every fail from Lesson 4.
Send them back using the pattern in the prompt below. Put in your own fails.
Check only the pieces that changed, then run the Lesson 4 check one more time.

Try thisFix only these: 1. Post 3 promises results. Rewrite it without a promise. 2. FAQ answer 4 is three sentences. Cut it to two. Keep everything else exactly as it is.

One possible fixPost 3, rewritten: "Spring's here and the grass is growing. Dee mows, edges and blows off walks in Riverbend, Millbrook and Oakdale. Text [Dee's number] for a quote." No promise, under 50 words, everything else unchanged.

Away from the screenThink of the last time you asked someone to redo something. Did you say exactly what to change?

Lesson 6

Save the Brief for Next Time

The brief is the part worth keeping. Turn it into a template, save it in your project, and the next big job starts from a page that already works.

Send the prompt below.
Copy the template into a text file on your computer and name it job-brief-template.txt.
Add it to your project's knowledge, the same way you added files in Claude 102.

Try thisTurn my job brief into a reusable template. Put blanks in [square brackets] for the job, what I want back, and the DONE MEANS list. Keep my DON'T line exactly as it is.

One possible templateJOB: [what the job is]. WHAT I WANT BACK: [each piece, numbered]. USE: only the files marked (current) in this project. DON'T: give a price, promise results, or mention any service Dee doesn't offer. DONE MEANS: [each thing you'll check, one per line].

Away from the screenWhich job in your own work would you write the first real brief for?

Flashcards

Eight Cards, One Class

Tap a card to turn it over. Nothing is scored and nothing is recorded.

Check Yourself

Six Questions

Optional, ungraded, never a gate. Nothing is stored. Pick an answer and the reasoning appears.

Question 1

Which line belongs in DONE MEANS?

A done item is something you can check with a yes or a no. "Under 50 words" can be counted.

Question 2

Claude's plan leaves out the FAQ. When should you say so?

Fixing the plan costs one message. Fixing finished work costs much more.

Question 3

Why ask for the flyer alone first?

Smaller pieces are easier to check and fix. Then you move to the next.

Question 4

A post says "Greenest lawn on the block, every time!" Pass or fail?

It's a promise of results, and the DON'T line rules that out.

Question 5

Two things fail the check. What do you send?

Name each fix and protect what's already right.

Question 6

Where should the brief template live?

Chats don't carry over. A file in the project is there for every future job.

After This

Where It Goes Next

Write one real brief for your own business this week and hand Claude the job. Check it against your list before anything goes out. That's the whole method from Claude 101 to here: give it the facts, ask clearly, check every line, and keep what works.

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Claude is a product of Anthropic. This class is not made by or affiliated with Anthropic.