Lesson 13 · Spaced review
Prove you can use Claude safely
A short retrieval lesson: choose the right tool, write safer prompts, and decide when to verify or escalate.
Primary sources
This review is based on the official Claude resources used throughout the course: Claude basics, file uploads, Cowork, Claude Code, and Anthropic’s guidance that Claude can produce incorrect or misleading responses.
The one idea
Do not just reread the lessons. Try to remember what to do. Retrieval practice builds the confidence she needs at work.
Keep the printable Claude Beginner Review Sheet nearby after you finish.
Round 1: choose the tool
Scenario: She needs one polite email asking for missing receipts. No files. No real client details.
Round 2: revise the answer
Scenario: Claude gives a useful answer, but it is too long and not easy to scan.
Round 3: verify before use
Scenario: Claude gives a formula for a real spreadsheet reconciliation.
Specificity scaffold: improve a weak prompt
Vague attempt
Make a report.
Improved attempt
Create a one-page manager update about month-end close using placeholders only. Format it as bullets with sections for completed, in progress, blocked, risks, and next steps. Do not include real company data.
Anatomy: goal = manager update; audience = manager; format = bullets; constraints = placeholders only and no real company data; success criteria = one page with five sections.
Independent final task
Write a safe Claude prompt for this scenario:
She wants help preparing for an onboarding meeting about month-end close. She does not know company policy yet and must avoid real data.
Include: goal, context, constraints, format, and success criteria.
Show one possible answer
I am preparing for an onboarding meeting about month-end close. Create a beginner-friendly list of 10 questions I should ask my manager. Use no real company or client data. Format the answer as a table with columns: Question, Why it matters, Who might know. Make it practical for an accountant starting a new job.
Final safety rule
If the task involves real client data, payroll, tax, bank records, filing obligations, file changes, or unclear employer policy, pause and ask a human before using Claude.
Memory practice
Close this page. From memory, say the six review words.
Show answer
Choose, prompt, revise, source, review, escalate.
Ask the teaching agent
Ask: “Quiz me again with three new accounting scenarios, but do not show the answers until I try.”