Twenty prompts that make an AI coach you instead of answering

How to use the list

1. Write your attempt first

   A guess, a rough draft, or where you are stuck. Wrong is fine.

2. Pick a prompt and fill the brackets

   Keep your attempt in your own words.

3. Answer its questions, one at a time

   If it gives the full answer anyway, say "hints only" or paste the coach line again.

4. Take the answer when you have earned it

   Once you have really tried, write "just answer". Then close the chat and explain it back in one line.

These work in any AI chatbot, because they are plain English. Students: use ChatGPT or Gemini. Claude is for adults only (18 and over).

The two base lines

These are the exact lines our tools add. End with the first to be coached, or the second to have your thinking checked.

[Your question]

My own attempt first: [your attempt]

Don't give me the answer. Guide me with questions, one at a time.

Check my thinking: tell me what I got right, then what I missed.

Study

1. "The question is [question]. My answer is [answer]. Do not correct it. Tell me which part to look at again, and ask me one question about it."
2. "Here is my working for [problem]: [working]. Find the first step where I go wrong and stop there. Do not show the rest. I will redo it."
3. "I am revising [topic]. Here is everything I remember: [notes from memory]. Tell me what is right, then quiz me on what is missing, one question at a time. Wait for each answer."
4. "I think [concept] means [my explanation]. Ask me three questions, one at a time, that would show whether I really understand it."
5. "I got [my answer] and the book says [book answer]. Do not explain yet. Give me one hint about where the difference comes from."

Writing

6. "I wrote the draft below myself. Please do not rewrite it and do not give me replacement sentences. Give me feedback as a careful reader: what works, where you got lost, and the one change that would help most. Ask me questions if my point is unclear. My draft: [draft]"
7. "My main point, in one sentence, is: [sentence]. Here is my draft: [draft]. Tell me where the draft drifts away from that point. Do not fix it."
8. "Here is my argument: [argument]. Reply as a reader who disagrees. Give me your strongest objection, then wait for my answer."
9. "Here is my draft: [draft]. List the spelling and grammar errors with the sentence each is in. Do not give me a corrected version."
10. "I want to write about [topic] and all I have is this: [rough notes]. Ask me five questions about what I want to say, one at a time. Do not write anything for me."

Coding

11. "My code: [code]. The error: [error]. I think the cause is [my guess]. Am I looking in the right place? Give me the next thing to check, not the fix."
12. "I want to build [feature]. My plan is: [steps in plain words]. Explain what could go wrong with this plan. No code yet."
13. "I think this code will print [my prediction]: [code]. Do not tell me if I am right. Ask me a question that would help me check it myself."
14. "I wrote this function: [code]. It works. Ask me to explain three lines of it, one at a time, and tell me where my explanation is weak."
15. "I read the docs for [library or function] and I understand it as: [my summary]. What did I get right, and what did I miss? Point me to the part of the docs to read again."

Work

16. "I have to decide [decision]. I lean towards [option] because [reasons]. Do not give me a recommendation. Ask me the questions I have not asked myself, one at a time."
17. "Here is my plan for [project]: [plan]. Tell me what I got right, then name the one risk I have most likely missed."
18. "I wrote this message to [person or role]: [message]. Read it as the person receiving it. What might they misunderstand or take badly? Do not rewrite it."
19. "My reading of this data is: [conclusion], based on [numbers]. What else could explain these numbers? Ask me what I would need to check."
20. "I am preparing for [meeting or interview]. Here are my three main points: [points]. Play the other side and ask me one hard question at a time. After each answer, tell me where it was weak."

Why these start from your attempt

In three experiments with 1,222 adults (Liu, Christian and others, COLM 2026, peer reviewed), people who received direct answers from an AI solved fewer problems on their own afterwards and gave up sooner. People who used it for hints did not show this.

A prompt is a request, not a lock. The AI will not follow it every time, and we have not yet measured how well each one keeps to it.

Stop pasting: save it once

Save a standing instruction in your AI's settings so it asks for your attempt in every new chat. The free coach setup builds one and shows where to paste it. The think pad adds the two base lines for you with one tap.

Questions