Write effective prompts

Get better results from Claude Code

⏱ Est. ~7 min

01 · Read

The quality of Claude Code's output depends directly on the quality of your input. Vague prompts get vague results. Specific prompts get exactly what you want.

This isn't about learning a special language or syntax — it's about clear communication. The same skill that makes you good at explaining things to a coworker makes you good at prompting Claude Code.

Let's look at the difference between weak and strong prompts, and build a framework you can use every time.

💡 Picture thisImagine ordering at a restaurant. "Give me something good" could get you anything. "I'd like grilled salmon, medium, with roasted vegetables and the sauce on the side" gets you what you actually want. Prompts work the same way.

02 · Read

Here are real examples of weak vs. strong prompts:

Weak: "Make it look better" Strong: "Use a dark color scheme with blue accents, a sans-serif font, and a max width of 800px centered"

Weak: "Fix it" Strong: "The delete button doesn't work — clicking it does nothing. I expect it to remove the bookmark from the list and from localStorage"

Weak: "Add a feature" Strong: "Add a search bar above the bookmark list that filters in real time as the user types, matching against title and URL"

Weak: "Make it better" Strong: "The page loads slowly because every keypress re-renders all bookmarks. Only update the visible list, not the whole DOM"

Notice the pattern: strong prompts include what you want, where it goes, how it works, and context about what already exists.

Key points

Vague prompts get vague results — specificity is everything
Describe what you want, where it goes, how it behaves
Add context about what exists or what's broken
Strong prompts save iteration time — you get it right faster

03 · Quiz

Which is the better Claude Code prompt?

Add a feature
Add a search bar that filters the bookmark list as the user types and highlights matches
Make it better
Do something cool

04 · Checklist

Use this prompt-writing framework every time you ask Claude Code to do something. Check off each element when your prompt includes it.

WHAT: I describe what to build or change
WHERE: I mention which files or components
HOW: I describe specific behavior or appearance
CONTEXT: I explain what exists or what's broken

05 · Fill in the blank

The prompt framework is: WHAT you want, _____ it goes, HOW it works, CONTEXT.

06 · Read

Congratulations — you've finished Level 8.

Look at what you can now do with Claude Code: - Understand any codebase by asking Claude to explain it - Create new files and entire projects from descriptions - Edit existing code with precise, surgical changes - Build complete applications from a single detailed prompt - Communicate effectively using the WHAT-WHERE-HOW-CONTEXT framework

You went from not knowing what a terminal was to building real apps with an AI pair programmer. That's not a small thing.

The tools you've learned across all the levels — terminal, file system, git, JavaScript, npm, web servers, and now Claude Code — are exactly the tools professional engineers use every day. The difference is you have an AI assistant making you faster.

Key points

Claude Code can understand, create, edit, and build
Better prompts = better results (WHAT, WHERE, HOW, CONTEXT)
Always review and test Claude's output
You're the decision-maker — Claude is the accelerator

07 · Quiz

Consider this prompt: "Add validation to the email field in ContactForm.tsx, showing a red border and error message when the format is invalid." Which elements of the WHAT-WHERE-HOW-CONTEXT framework does it include?

Only WHAT
Only WHAT and WHERE
WHAT, WHERE, HOW
All four: WHAT, WHERE, HOW, CONTEXT

08 · Fill in the blank

The four elements of an effective prompt are: WHAT you want, WHERE it goes, _____ it works, CONTEXT about what exists.

Other lessons in this chapter

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※ This is an independent Traditional Chinese teaching project — not an official Anthropic product. Claude™ is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC.