Taming
1-2

“Try again, but…”

  • Level 1
  • 3 minutes
  • Free

Improve a draft by telling Claude what to change, one follow-up at a time, in the same chat.

This lesson

  1. Read Now
  2. Try it
  3. Check

The idea

The first answer is a draft. Say what to change, in the same chat.

You don't have to write the perfect request up front. Anthropic's help pages say the same: give Claude follow-up instructions, clarifications, or ask it to rewrite.

Claude can see everything earlier in the conversation. So a follow-up can be two words. "Shorter." "More formal." "Drop the last paragraph." "Say it like you're talking to the finance director."

Change one thing at a time. You'll see what each change does, and you can stop when it's right.

Look

Keep typing in the same box

Simplified drawing of the Claude screen: past chats on the left with your name below them, your message and Claude's reply in the middle, and the message box with attach, voice and send near the bottom. Highlighted: the message box.
Simplified drawing of Claude on a phone: a menu button for past chats and your initials at the top, your message and Claude's reply in the middle, and the message box with attach, voice and send at the bottom. Highlighted: the message box.
  1. The message box. This is where you type. It's the biggest box on the screen.
  2. Claude's reply. It shows up above the box. You can keep the conversation going.
  3. Your message. What you sent sits on the right, so you can check what you asked.
A simplified drawing, not a screenshot. The buttons move around now and then. The big box you type in doesn't.

The draft stays above. Your follow-up goes in the box below it. No need to paste the draft back in.

Your turn

Shorter, then more formal

Take any draft Claude wrote for you. The out-of-office from the last lesson works. In the same chat, type:

Shorter, please. Keep the same points.

When the new version appears, type:

Now make it more formal.

Compare the three versions. Pick the one you'd actually send.

One thing to notice

If an earlier version was better, say so. "Go back to the second version, but keep the new ending." It's all still in the chat, so Claude can work from it.

Quick check

One question, no gradeClaude's draft is close, but too long. What's the quickest fix?

Next lesson · 1-3 · 3 minutes

Hand it a document

Next: Hand it a document

Checked against Claude on 2026-09-25.