Step 5 of 7 in AI Lab
Next in your path: 1.9 Automate Your Work with AI (Zapier/Make-style workflows)
Before this course: AI for Students (course 1.10). You should already know where the line is between help and cheating, how to use AI as a tutor, how to ask for feedback and the basic 3-step source check. This course goes one step deeper into a full research-and-writing project. It pairs well with Research Skills (13.10) and Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism (13.11).
Before a trip you decide where you are going and what to pack. A research project needs the same plan. AI can help you ask good planning questions, but the trip is still yours.
| Planning task | A prompt that keeps you in charge |
|---|---|
| Narrow a topic | "Ask me five questions that help me narrow this topic into one research question." |
| Break it down | "Here is my question. Suggest 4 sub-questions I could answer with sources. Do not answer them." |
| Search words | "List 10 search keywords and synonyms for this question." |
| Spot gaps | "What would a skeptical reader ask about this question?" |
I am a Grade 11 student writing a 1,500-word research essay for [COURSE]. My topic is [TOPIC]. My teacher allows AI for planning only. Act as a research coach. Don't write any of my essay. Ask me one question at a time to narrow my topic into one research question. After 5 questions, suggest three possible research questions and let me choose.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
[Host] "A good project starts with a good question, not a big topic."
[Text on screen: Topic: social media | Question: How does social media use relate to teen sleep?] "A topic is wide. A research question is narrow and can be answered."
[Screen: typing 'Ask me one question at a time to narrow my topic'] "Ask the AI to question you, not to write for you."
[Screen: choosing one of three suggested questions and rewriting it] "Pick a question, then put it in your own words."
[Host] "AI helps you think. The plan is yours."
Choose a real or practice assignment. Use the planning prompt to reach one research question, four sub-questions and ten search keywords. Save them as your Research plan and write one line on which parts you changed from the AI's suggestions.
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "AI Research & Writing: work with sources and stay honest" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Plan the project: from topic to research question".
What the lesson teaches:
- A topic is broad ("social media"). A research question is narrow and answerable ("How does time spent on social media relate to sleep in teens?"). Research Skills (13.10) teaches this idea; here you use AI to practise it.
- Anthropic's Claude for Education launch (April 2, 2025) describes a Learning mode that guides students with Socratic questions rather than just answering. You can ask any AI for the same style.
- Anthropic's Education Report (April 8, 2025) looked at 574,740 student conversations with Claude after filtering. About 47 percent were "Direct" (looking for an answer or content with little back-and-forth). The report warns that handing higher-order thinking to AI can be a problem, and that its sample was early adopters from one 18-day window. The lesson for you: use AI to think with, not to think for you.
- Good planning prompts ask for options and questions, not the finished plan. You choose.
- Always check the assignment first. Your teacher's instructions and your school's AI rules decide what help is allowed.
- Planning task - A prompt that keeps you in charge
- Narrow a topic - "Ask me five questions that help me narrow this topic into one research question."
The exercise I'm working on:
Choose a real or practice assignment. Use the planning prompt to reach one research question, four sub-questions and ten search keywords. Save them as your Research plan and write one line on which parts you changed from the AI's suggestions.
I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Plan the project: from topic to research question" from the course "AI Research & Writing: work with sources and stay honest". Here's what the lesson says: Before a trip you decide where you are going and what to pack. A research project needs the same plan. AI can help you ask good planning questions, but the trip is still yours. The activity: Choose a real or practice assignment. Use the planning prompt to reach one research question, four sub-questions and ten search keywords. Save them as your Research plan and write one line on which parts you changed from the AI's suggestions. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
What is the difference between a topic and a research question?
A topic is broad; a research question is narrow and can be answered with sources.
What should you ask AI when looking for sources?
Where and how to search (types of sources, databases, search terms), not for finished reference lists.
What does a source log prove?
That you really opened and read each source you cite.
Name two habits from Anthropic's hallucination guide that help with summaries.
Allow "I don't know"; ask for word-for-word quotes first; verify each claim with a supporting quote.
Do those habits remove hallucinations completely?
No. They reduce them, so you still validate important information.
What is patchwriting?
Changing a few words of the original sentence instead of writing the idea in your own words.
In a paraphrase check, what should the AI do?
Check accuracy and point out differences, not rewrite your text.
Whose rubric should you use to judge your draft?
Your teacher's rubric.
What is the two-source rule for important claims?
Find two reliable sources that agree, or one primary source.
What is lateral reading?
Opening a new tab to look up who is behind a source and what others say about it.
Why might "linked to" need to stay "linked to" and not become "causes"?
Because changing the wording changes what the evidence actually shows.
What should your process folder contain?
Research plan, source log, notes, dated drafts, and your AI-use statement.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.
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