Your First Student AI Prompts

The difference between students who get amazing answers from AI and students who get generic mush is one thing: how they prompt. A good prompt takes 30 seconds longer to write and produces an answer that is 10x more useful.

This lesson teaches the prompt formula every student in this course will use, plus a "study context" snippet you can paste at the top of every chat to make every reply specific to your situation.

What You'll Learn

• The five-part prompt formula that beats vague questions every time
• How to build a reusable "study context" paragraph for your chats
• The most common student prompting mistakes (and how to fix them)
• Five copy-paste prompts you can use this week

The CRAFT Prompt Formula

Every great student prompt has five elements. The acronym is CRAFT:

• C — Context. Who are you? What class is this for? What is the situation?
• R — Role. What role should the AI play? (Tutor, editor, peer reviewer, hiring manager.)
• A — Ask. What exactly do you want it to produce?
• F — Format. How should the answer be structured? (Bullet list, table, 3 paragraphs, code block.)
• T — Tone. Formal, casual, encouraging, blunt?

Compare a vague prompt to a CRAFT prompt:

Vague: "Help me with my essay."

CRAFT: "I'm a second-year political science student writing a 1,500-word argumentative essay on whether the European Union should expand to include the Western Balkans. My current thesis is that expansion should happen but on a slower 15-year timeline. (Context.) Act as a tough but supportive PhD-level peer reviewer. (Role.) Read my draft (pasted below) and give me the three weakest arguments and how to strengthen each. Also flag any logical gaps. (Ask.) Use a numbered list with a one-paragraph explanation per item. (Format.) Be direct but constructive — assume I can take blunt feedback. (Tone.)"

The CRAFT version takes 90 seconds to write. The reply will save you 4 hours of revisions.

Your Reusable "Study Context" Paragraph

Most of your CRAFT context never changes — what year you're in, your major, your strengths and gaps. Write it once and paste it at the top of every new chat.

Here is a template. Customize it for yourself:

I am a [year] student at [type of university] studying [major] with a [minor or concentration]. My academic level is [intro / intermediate / advanced]. My strengths are [examples: writing, conceptual reasoning]. My weak spots are [examples: math under time pressure, statistical methods, citing properly]. I prefer explanations that [examples: start with intuition, then add formality]. My English level is [native / fluent / B2 / etc.]. When I ask for help, assume I want to learn the underlying ideas, not just get the answer.

Save it in a note app. Paste it at the start of every fresh chat. Suddenly every reply is calibrated to you.

The Five Most Common Student Prompting Mistakes

1. Asking yes/no questions.

"Is this thesis good?" gets you "Yes!" Try instead: "Critique this thesis. List the three biggest weaknesses, then suggest a stronger alternative."

2. Not pasting in the source material.

Asking "summarize Foucault's theory of power" gets a generic answer. Pasting the actual chapter you were assigned gets a summary tailored to your reading.

3. Stopping at the first answer.

The first reply is rarely the best. Always ask follow-ups: "Make it more concise." "Add a counterargument." "Explain point 3 like I'm 12."

4. Being too polite or too vague.

AI doesn't have feelings. "Be direct. List exactly three weaknesses, no fluff." gets you a sharper reply than "Could you maybe give me some thoughts please?"

5. Forgetting the format.

If you don't say "bullet list" or "table" you get a wall of text. Always specify the format you want.

Five Copy-Paste Prompts to Try This Week

1. Explain a Hard Concept

[Paste study context.] I am stuck on [concept] from my [class] course. Explain it in three layers: (1) intuition for a 12-year-old, (2) university-exam level, and (3) the three follow-up questions a sharp student would ask, with answers.

2. Build a Study Plan

[Paste study context.] I have a final in [subject] on [date]. The exam covers [list of modules]. I have [X hours per day] available between now and the exam. Build me a day-by-day study plan with active-recall and practice sessions, not just "read chapter 3."

3. Critique an Outline

[Paste study context.] Below is my outline for a [length] [type of paper]. Act as a tough peer reviewer. List the three weakest sections, the missing arguments, and one bold suggestion that would make the paper stand out. Outline: [paste].

4. Polish an Email to a Professor

[Paste study context.] I need to email Professor [name] to ask for [reason]. The current draft is below. Make it more professional, concise, and respectful — no apologies that signal weakness, no excessive flattery. Keep it under 120 words. Draft: [paste].

5. Generate Practice Questions

[Paste study context.] My midterm covers [topics]. Generate 10 practice questions: 4 multiple-choice, 4 short-answer, 2 essay. Provide a model answer for each. Match the level of a [course-level] exam.

A Full CRAFT Walk-Through

Try this right now in ChatGPT or Claude:

I am a first-year economics student preparing for a midterm on supply and demand, market equilibrium, and elasticity. My weak spot is elasticity calculations. (C) Act as a patient university tutor. (R) Generate 5 elasticity problems at midterm difficulty, with full step-by-step solutions. After each problem, explain the most common mistake students make. (A) Format as numbered problems with a "Solution" and "Common Mistake" section under each. (F) Be encouraging but rigorous. Flag if I need more practice on any specific sub-skill. (T)

You will get 5 problems with solutions in under a minute. Compare that to spending an hour searching for practice problems online.

Key Takeaways

• The CRAFT formula (Context, Role, Ask, Format, Tone) turns vague questions into useful answers.
• Save a personal "study context" paragraph and paste it at the top of every new chat.
• The most common mistakes are asking yes/no questions, not pasting source material, and stopping at the first answer.
• Always specify the output format you want — list, table, paragraph count, word count.
• Iteration beats perfection. The 3rd reply is almost always better than the 1st.