Say exactly what you mean
Outcome
By the end, you'll be able to tell the difference between a vague prompt and a precise one — and write the precise kind on purpose.
Concept
Claude answers the question you actually asked, not the one you meant to ask. A vague prompt gets a vague, generic answer because that's the only kind that fits. The fix isn't to write more — it's to write more specifically: name the angle, the level, and what you want to walk away with.
Build the prompt, step by step
The ask
Tell me about photography.
What comes back
Photography is the art of capturing light to make images. It spans many genres — portraits, landscapes, street, macro — and involves cameras, lenses, composition, and editing. People shoot for art, for documentation, and to keep memories, on everything from phones to professional bodies.
Try it
Open claude.ai and try both of these, back to back:
Prompt
First: "Tell me about photography." Then: "What are the 3 most important camera settings a complete beginner should learn first, and why does each one matter?"
What to look for: Compare the two replies side by side. The first is broad and could apply to almost anyone. The second is narrow enough to actually act on. That gap is what specificity buys you.
Takeaway
The more precisely you describe what you want, the more useful what you get back will be.
Your turn
This prompt makes Claude guess. Rewrite it so it has precision to answer your actual situation — the checklist tracks what you add.
The weak prompt
Make this better.
What you've added
- Replaces vague words with concrete onesSwap 'better' for the actual change you want.
- Says exactly what 'this' isName the thing: the intro, these three sentences.
- Bounds the scope of the taskSay how far to go: just the opening, the whole draft.
- States a precise, checkable targetGive a number or a plain test.