Who this is for
You already sorted a green paper and underlined 6 lines or fewer. This lesson types those lines into the chat you already use — chatgpt.com, claude.ai, or gemini.google.com — and asks three questions. Stay on the same site.
The emergency brake
- It's typing too much? Click Stop — the square that replaces the send arrow while it's writing.
- Closed this tab?
Ctrl+Shift+T(Mac:Cmd+Shift+T). It comes back. - The chat got long or strange? Click New chat — a pencil or plus, usually near the top. Clean page.
- You pasted a number you had covered? Don't paste it again to check. Delete that chat (the ⋯ menu next to its name → Delete). Tell a person you trust.
Open a new chat
About 3 min
- Keep two tabs: this lesson, and the chat site you already use. Type the address if the tab isn't open. Don't search for it, and don't click an ad.
- Click New chat. Blank page.
- Read the don't-paste card on the worksheet. Nothing covered goes in the box.
Upload a photo of the paper. Type the underlined lines, or copy just those lines from an emailed notice after the numbers are gone.
Type the three questions
About 7 min
Click in the box. Type the ask below, then type your underlined lines between the --- lines. Enter sends. Shift+Enter makes a new line. If it sends early, send the rest as a second message.
Using only the words I typed below, tell me: 1) what they want me to do 2) by when 3) what the paper says happens if I do nothing Do not add rules, rights, or amounts. If a date or amount is not in my words, write MISSING. Plain words, 3 short lines. --- Beginning November 3, recycling collection in Zone B moves from Tuesday to Thursday. Containers must be at the curb by 6:00 a.m. Bulk items require a $15 sticker, available at Town Hall. ---
For your own paper, replace the three lines between the dashes with the lines you underlined. Leave the questions as they are.
1) Put recycling at the curb on Thursday instead of Tuesday (Zone B), by 6 a.m. Bulk items need a $15 sticker from Town Hall.
2) Starting November 3.
3) MISSING — the notice doesn't say.
Your answer will be worded differently. That's normal. Check it has the same parts: what they want, by when, and MISSING if the paper never says what happens when you do nothing.
MISSING is a good answer. It means the chat didn't make something up.
Try this
Send the ask with your underlined lines. Read the 3 lines on screen before you do anything else.
You should see: three short lines. MISSING shows up anywhere your words never gave a date, an amount, or a “what if.”
Leave the answer on screen
About 5 min
- Don't ask a follow-up yet. The next lesson checks this answer against the paper.
- If you need the words on paper, copy them into Notes yourself. You still check them in PH-03.
↓ Download the PH-02 worksheet (PDF)
Need a print copy from your browser? Open the print-ready worksheet.
Success check
- Three short lines
- MISSING shows up anywhere the paper was silent
Common failure modes
| What happened | What to do |
|---|---|
| The answer invented a fine, a rule, or a phone number | Leave it. PH-03 crosses those out. Don't ask it to “fix” them in the same chat. |
| Enter sent before the lines were in | Send the rest as a second message, between the dashes. |
| You typed a covered account number | Stop. Delete that chat. Don't paste the number again. |
Stop line
Don't ask “what should I do?” or “what are my rights?” That's a different question, and it invites made-up rules.
Brake: Stop · New chat.
Stop. Book a human. It's not you — these sites change often.