IdeasRepay/Claude prompting/The Ground-It Checklist
Module 3 · Claude Zero to Pro

The Ground-It Checklist

Feed Claude your own files so it answers from your world.

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Module 3
Claude · Zero to Pro

The Ground-It Checklist

Feed Claude your own files so it answers from your world, and shows its work.

The four moves from Module 3. Describing something well is not the same as knowing it. You can write the clearest prompt on earth about your return policy, and Claude still has no idea what your policy actually says. So you stop making it guess: you hand it the real material for the task, tell it to answer only from that, make it quote the source, and give it permission to say I don't have that. This sheet is that, with the exact upload path and the exact lines to paste.

First, attach your file (the real path)

  1. Click the "+" button in the lower-left corner of the message box.
  2. Choose "Add files or photos" from the menu that opens.
  3. Pick your file and click "Open" (or drag and drop it into the chat). It appears as a little chip right above where you type. That's your file, attached.
  4. Type your instruction, then click the send arrow (lower-right of the composer).
Works on any plan. Common file types include PDF, Word docs, spreadsheets, and plain text.

The four moves (they always go together)

1

Feed it

Give Claude the real file for this task. The actual policy, the actual price sheet, the actual document. You're not describing it anymore, you're handing it over.

(This is the attach step above.)

2

Only from this

Tell it plainly to use what you gave it, not what it already knows. That one line shuts off the guessing.

Paste this
Answer only using the file I attached, not what you already know.
3

Quote it

Make Claude quote the exact line it's relying on, straight from your document, before it answers. Now you can see exactly where the answer came from. You read one quoted line, check it against your file, and you know in two seconds whether to trust it. Those are your receipts.

Paste this
Quote the exact line you're relying on, then answer.
4

Or say so

Give it permission, out loud, to tell you when your material doesn't cover the question, instead of making something up.

Paste this
If it's not covered in the file, tell me instead of guessing.

Paste-ready block (all three lines at once)

After your file is attached, paste this under it:

Paste under your file
Answer only using the file I attached, not what you already know. Quote the exact line you're relying on, then answer. If it's not covered in the file, tell me instead of guessing.

Worked example: the return question

The task: a customer opened a product and wants to return it, 40 days after buying it. What's your policy? Only your document knows.

Without your file (confident, and wrong)
Most stores accept returns within 30 days, and usually only for unopened items. Since it was opened and it's been 40 days, it probably isn't eligible. I'd check your store's specific policy to be sure.
The problem
Generic, wrong for your shop, and it punts, because we never gave it a policy.
Grounded (correct, and it shows its work)
Good news, they're covered for store credit. Your policy says: "Opened items: returnable within 45 days for store credit, if intact." 40 days is inside the 45-day window, so it's store credit, not a cash refund.
The trust test
Ask something your file doesn't cover ("What about international returns?"). A grounded Claude says: "Your policy doesn't mention international returns, so I can't answer that from this document." That right there is why you can trust it.

The four-check verify

Did I actually give it my file, not just describe it?
Did I tell it to answer only from that file?
Did I make it quote the source, so I can see where the answer came from?
Did I give it the out to say "I don't have that" when the file doesn't cover it?
All four yes = an answer you can trust.
If it still drifts generic, it's almost always this: you uploaded the file, but you forgot to say "only from this" and "quote it," so it quietly mixed in what it already knew. Those two lines are what keep it honest.
The one thing
Don't let Claude guess about your world. Hand it your material, and make it cite the source. Grounded, and honest.
Good. Fast. Yours.Module 2 earned the Good. This locks it in: the answer is right about your world and you can trust it. Your first real taste of Yours.
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Free  The Ground-It Checklist · Module 3 of Claude: Zero to Pro

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The five sheets
1The Operator's Map2The Description Recipe Card3The Ground-It Checklist4Artifact Starter Prompts5The Complete Prompting Cheat Sheet