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Introduction
Hi, and welcome to the Prompt Basics session. A prompt is the message or instruction we send to Claude. The quality of the answer depends heavily on the quality of the prompt. In this episode we learn prompt structure with four parts: role, context, task, and format. By the end of the episode, you'll have your first go-to prompt that you can use again and again.
Step 1: Why prompts need structure
Laras wants promo ideas for Sunset Coffee's third anniversary. Her first prompt is very short: give me promo ideas for my shop's anniversary. The second version is more complete, with the four parts we're about to learn. With the short prompt, Claude has to guess a lot: what business, what budget, who the buyers are. With the structured prompt, Claude gets to work right away with clear information. The results are different too. The short prompt produces generic ideas like a discount or a giveaway. The structured prompt produces specific ideas that fit Sunset Coffee's budget and customers. As a result, the short prompt needs many revisions, while the structured prompt usually needs only a small adjustment. Writing a structured prompt does take a minute longer. But that one minute saves five to ten minutes of back-and-forth revisions. The four parts are role, context, task, and format. The role answers the question: who should Claude act as? The context gives the background: what business, who the customers are, what the budget is, when it happens, and what limits apply. This is information Claude can't possibly know unless you tell it. The task explains what needs to be done, with a clear verb such as write, summarize, or compare. The format sets the shape of the result: a table, a list, or paragraphs, how long it should be, and what tone to use. An easy way to remember it: who, background, do what, and in what shape. Let's break them down one by one with Laras's example.
Step 2: Breaking down the four parts
Here's Laras's full prompt. Part one, the role: you are a marketing consultant for small food businesses who knows social media well. The role makes Claude use an expert's point of view and vocabulary. Part two, the context. Laras writes facts only she knows: the Bandung location, the third anniversary, customers who are students and office workers, a budget of one million rupiah, and the price of her best seller. Part three, the task: create three promo ideas that two staff members can run. Notice the number three and the limit of two staff. Exact numbers make the result more focused. Part four, the format: a three-column table with the idea name, how it works, and the estimated cost, in casual language. Of these four parts, context usually has the biggest impact. Claude is smart, but it knows nothing about your business until you tell it. You don't need to write the prompt with labels like on screen. Just write four sentences in order in one message. The labels only help us learn. Laras sends that prompt as one ordinary message, without labels. All the parts are still there: role, context, task, and format. Claude immediately gives a table of three ideas: a stamp card, a special price on the anniversary, and a customer photo contest. The total cost is exactly one million rupiah, matching the budget. Compare this with the answer to the short prompt earlier. These ideas are specific, realistic for two staff members, and ready to run. Laras still checks the cost estimates before deciding.
Step 3: You don't always need all four
Does every prompt need all four parts? No. For a small task, the task and format are enough. For example: fix the spelling in this paragraph, and return only the text, without explanations. For daily tasks, add context, because the result has to fit your situation, such as Sunset Coffee's shipping rules. For important tasks, use all four, plus limits: things not to do, such as don't promise a discount or don't mention competitors by name. So the more important the task, the more complete the prompt. The order of the parts is flexible too, as long as the content is there. Another example from Cerdas Tutoring. Mr. Hendra writes a short prompt, but all four parts are there: the role of a patient science teacher, the context of fifth graders who often forget, the task of writing a summary, and the format of four stages with one sentence each. Claude puts together a one-page summary in the right panel. The four stages are in order, and the foggy pot lid example makes the concept easy for students to remember. Notice that structure doesn't mean a prompt has to be long. Mr. Hendra's prompt is only two sentences, but every part is clear.
Step 4: Ask Claude to help build the prompt
What if you're not sure how to build those four parts? Ask Claude for help. Dewi from Maju Bersama Co. writes her needs as they are, then asks Claude to ask her questions first, four at most. Claude asks four questions: what data is available, what the director most wants to know, how long the report should be, and what tone to use. Dewi answers briefly. The data is stock in and stock out per product, the director wants to know what's running low, the length is half a page, and the tone is semi-formal. Claude builds a prompt with all four parts. Dewi just copies it, pastes in this week's stock data, and sends it. Before using a prompt Claude built, check two things: are the facts correct, and has any confidential office information slipped in? If it's safe, save it as a template. This technique is perfect if you're just starting out. You don't have to be good at writing prompts right away. Write your needs as they are, answer Claude's questions, then ask it to build a structured prompt. Over time, you'll memorize the questions Claude usually asks, and start writing complete prompts yourself without any help.
Step 5: Turning a prompt into a template
Don't throw away a prompt that works. Turn it into a template. The role usually stays the same, so leave it as it is. In the context, the parts that change are replaced with variables in double curly braces: business name, city, event, customers, and budget. The task gets variables too: the number of ideas and the number of staff. The format usually stays the same. Now this template works for any event: an anniversary, Eid, or the new school year. Next month, when there's an Eid promo, Laras just copies the template, fills in the variables, and sends it. No need to think up a prompt from scratch. Now it's your turn. Take one routine task, then check your prompt against this list. First, the role is clear. Second, the context includes facts only you know, such as your business name, your customers, or office rules. Third, the task uses a clear verb and an exact number. Fourth, the format states the shape, length, and tone. Fifth, the parts that change have been replaced with variables. Save it in your notes as Go-To Prompt number one. By the end of this session, you'll have five go-to prompts. Each episode adds one, with a different technique.
Done!
We've learned the four parts of a prompt, seen the results for a Sunset Coffee promo and Cerdas Tutoring material, learned when a few parts are enough, and saved our first go-to prompt as a template. In the next episode we learn a very powerful technique: giving Claude examples, so the style and shape of the result are exactly what you want. See you there!
Practice exercises
Try these on your own after watching to lock in what you learned.
Rewrite one of your old prompts with the four parts, then compare the results
Turn that prompt into a template with two or three variables
Save the template as Go-To Prompt number 1 in your notes
Ask the class material
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Cerdas Inovasi Digital Team
Software developers, BIM & 3D engineers, and AI practitioners
53 video classes1,290 episodes
We build software, BIM models, games and AI automations for clients every day, and turn that hands-on work into step-by-step classes: every step is shown on screen and comes with a PDF guide you can keep.
