Share the Right Materials

Beginner

The AI can only work with what you hand it

01 The Concept

The single biggest upgrade most beginners can make isn't clever wording — it's pasting the actual materials. The email thread you're replying to. The error message, complete and uncut. The paragraph you want rewritten. The AI can't see your screen, your inbox, or your codebase unless you put them in the prompt.

Then add one instruction that changes everything: "work only from what I've given you." Without it, the model happily fills gaps with plausible-sounding inventions. With it, the model tells you when something is missing instead of guessing.

02 Weak vs. Strong

EX 01Replying to a tricky email

Below is a client email. Draft a reply from me (project lead at a 12-person agency). EMAIL THREAD: "Team — this is the second deadline that's slipped. We were promised the dashboard on the 3rd. I need to tell my VP something concrete today. — Dana" FACTS YOU MAY USE (nothing else): - New realistic date: the 14th, confirmed with engineering this morning - Cause: a payments-API migration on their side added 2 weeks of rework - We will demo a working preview this Friday Tone: accountable, no excuses, no corporate filler. Under 120 words. End with one concrete next step Dana can forward to her VP.

→ Why it works

The real email is pasted, usable facts are fenced off explicitly, and the model is told to use nothing else — so the reply can't invent promises you never made.

EX 02Debugging an error

My Python script crashes. Work only from the code and traceback below — if the cause isn't visible in them, say what else you'd need to see. CODE (relevant function): ```python def load_user(payload): user = payload["user"] return user["email"].lower() ``` TRACEBACK: ``` KeyError: 'email' ``` SAMPLE PAYLOAD that triggered it: ```json {"user": {"mail": "[email protected]", "id": 7}} ``` Give: (1) the root cause in one sentence, (2) the minimal fix, (3) how to make the function fail with a clearer message next time.

→ Why it works

Code, traceback, and the actual failing input are all pasted and labeled. The model is invited to say 'I'd need more' instead of inventing a cause.

03 Key Points

01Paste source material, don't describe it — a real email beats 'an email from my boss about deadlines'

02Include complete error messages, not summaries of them

03Say 'work only from the material above' to stop gap-filling inventions

04Label what you paste: 'EMAIL THREAD:', 'MY DRAFT:', 'ERROR LOG:' — labels prevent the model mixing them up

05If the answer needs something you didn't provide, a well-instructed model will ask — treat that as a feature

04 Model-Specific Notes

Claude handles long pasted material well — put documents first and your instruction after them. For multiple documents, wrap each in XML-style tags like <email> and <draft>; Claude tracks tagged sections especially reliably.

05 For Your Role

Replying to a landlord, school, or insurance email? Paste the whole thread and the two or three facts the reply must contain. You'll get something you can send, not a template.

Next: Ask for Options, Not Answers →