Mastering Prompts
Learn the science and art of prompt engineering — from anatomy basics to meta-prompting and self-improvement.
Welcome to Mastering Prompts
Every AI coding tool is only as good as the prompts you give it. This subject teaches you the universal skill of prompt engineering — techniques that work across Claude, Cursor, Codex, and any future AI tool.
Whether you're writing a one-line instruction or a complex multi-step specification, the principles here will dramatically improve your results.
What You'll Learn
By the end of this subject, you'll be able to:
- Structure prompts that get correct results on the first try
- Use advanced techniques like few-shot learning and chain-of-thought
- Write system prompts and rules files that shape AI behaviour
- Build a personal library of reusable prompt patterns
- Use AI to improve your own prompts (meta-prompting)
Course Structure
| Section | Topic | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Tools Setup | 15 min |
| Lesson 1 | Anatomy of a Good Prompt | 40 min |
| Lesson 2 | Role & Context Setting | 45 min |
| Lesson 3 | Step-by-Step Instructions | 40 min |
| Lesson 4 | Few-Shot Examples | 45 min |
| Lesson 5 | Constraints & Guardrails | 40 min |
| Lesson 6 | System Prompts & Rules Files | 50 min |
| Lesson 7 | Chain-of-Thought Prompting | 45 min |
| Lesson 8 | Multi-Turn Conversations | 45 min |
| Lesson 9 | Prompt Patterns & Templates | 50 min |
| Lesson 10 | Meta-Prompting & Self-Improvement | 45 min |
Prerequisites
- Completion of Subject 0 (Vibe Coding) recommended
- Access to any AI coding tool (Claude, Cursor, or Codex)
- A project to practice prompts with
- Willingness to experiment and iterate