Who this is for
Everyone, right after FC-1. This lesson plus FC-1 is the only thing you need before any other life-admin track. Already chat most weeks? Read the cards below, then go straight to the job you need.
The brake (if something private went in)
- Pasted something from the card below? Follow the Oops steps in the brake table further down. Don't paste it again "to check."
- Want a clean start? Click New chat.
- Shared or library computer? Log out before you walk away.
Read the don't-paste card out loud
About 30 seconds
Before any paste, ever. Out loud is on purpose — it sticks better.
Never type or paste these into a chat
- Passwords, or codes sent to your phone or email
- Social Security number, bank or card numbers, account numbers, barcodes
- Health details — yours or anyone's (symptoms, medicines, test results, insurance cards)
- Kids' names, schools, teams, and where they'll be when
- Full street addresses, birthdays, other people's phone numbers or emails
Use stand-ins: [Landlord], [Kid A], [my street]. The chat writes just as well without the real thing. Real names go in afterward, outside the chat.
The small print under the chat box on these sites says chats may be read by the company. One more reason for stand-ins.
Read the four stop cards
About 1 min
These are the times the chat is the wrong tool. Keep the worksheet next to the keyboard — the same four cards print at the top of every Academy worksheet.
Health. Don't type symptoms, medicines, or test results. Write your questions on paper and bring them to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Emergency: call 911. (This card has no box to fill in, on purpose.)
Today's price. The chat doesn't know today's price, what's in stock, or this week's sale. Read the shelf tag, the store's own page, or call the store.
Rules and the law. A letter the chat writes is not legal advice. For a lease, school, airline, or town rule, open the page printed on your paper or call the office. Court, eviction, custody, immigration: stop and call a lawyer or legal aid (in NJ, Legal Services of New Jersey).
Tax, benefits, and scams. You're responsible for what you file. Don't ask the chat to fill in a tax or benefits form, and never type your SSN or income. Use the agency's own site or the number on a letter you trust. Free tax help exists (IRS VITA sites). If anyone — a caller, a pop-up, a page, or a chat — asks for a password, a code, gift cards, a wire, or crypto, or promises a bot will earn you money: stop, hang up or close it, and ask a person you trust.
↓ Download the stop cards (PDF, one page)
Also on page 1 of the First Chat worksheet (PDF). Print-ready HTML: stop cards · worksheet.
Practice paste on words that aren't yours
About 5 min
- Here's a sample note. It already uses stand-ins. Select it with your mouse and press Ctrl+C (Mac: Cmd+C). The Copy button works too.
hi [Teacher] [Kid A] missed class tues can u send the homework he missed thanks
- In the chat, type the first two lines of the worked example below. Press Shift+Enter for each new line so it doesn't send yet.
- Type
---, Shift+Enter, paste with Ctrl+V (Mac: Cmd+V), Shift+Enter, then---again. - Press Enter to send.
You type:
Rewrite my note below so it is clear and polite. Do not add anything I did not say. Answer in 3 short lines. --- hi [Teacher] [Kid A] missed class tues can u send the homework he missed thanks ---
A good short answer looks like:
Hi [Teacher],
[Kid A] missed class on Tuesday. Could you send me the homework from that day?
Thank you, [Your name]
It kept the brackets. It didn't add a reason, a date, or an apology you didn't write.
Your answer will be worded differently. That's normal. Check it has the same parts.
Two habits just happened: stand-ins instead of real names, and "Do not add anything I did not say." Then you check. Don't ask the chat whether its own answer is right — read it against what you wrote.
Undo: pasted in the wrong spot?Ctrl/Cmd+Z takes it back out of the box.
Now your own words, with stand-ins
About 5 min
- Pick one or two sentences you already wrote — a text you're unsure about, a note to a neighbor.
- Swap every name or place for a stand-in: [Neighbor], [my street], [Kid A]. Check the card: nothing from it goes in.
- Use the same first two lines as the worked example. Put your sentences between the
---lines. Send. - Read the answer against your own words. Did it add a reason, a date, a promise, or a feeling you didn't write? Point at it.
Pick something about health, money you owe, a court or benefits letter, or taxes. A stop card applies. Pick an ordinary note for today.
Try this
Send one or two of your own sentences, with stand-ins, using the same two opening lines.
You should see: your note, clearer, with your brackets still in it. If it added something you didn't say, you caught it — that's the skill. Delete that part when you use the note.
The brake card
This is on every worksheet. You don't have to memorize it — just know where it is.
| If this happens | Do this |
|---|---|
| It's typing too much, or something you don't want | Click Stop — the square that replaces the send arrow while it's writing |
| You closed the tab by mistake | Ctrl+Shift+T (Mac: Cmd+Shift+T). It comes back. (CB-04) |
| The chat got strange, long, or off track | Click New chat (a pencil or plus, usually near the top). Clean page. |
| You're on a shared or library computer | Before you leave: click your initial or picture → Log out / Sign out, then close the browser |
| You pasted something from the don't-paste card | Oops steps: don't paste it again "to check." Delete that chat (the ⋯ menu next to its name in the side list → Delete). If it was a password or code, change that password on the real site. If it was a bank or card number, call the number on the back of your card. Tell a person you trust. Deleting helps, but it isn't a guarantee — that's why the card comes first. |
| Stuck after two honest tries | Stop. Book a human. It's not you — these sites change often. |
Not signed in on chatgpt.com? There's no side list. Click New chat → Clear chat, or close the tab — then do the rest of the Oops steps.
Success check
- I read the card before pasting anything
- Practice paste worked
- I pasted my own words with stand-ins, and nothing from the card
- The answer didn't add facts (or I spotted the ones it added)
Common snags
| Snag | Fix |
|---|---|
| It sent before I pasted | No harm. Paste the note and send it as a second message. |
| The paste didn't go in | Click inside the chat box first, then Ctrl/Cmd+V. |
| It swapped my brackets for made-up names | Send: Keep my brackets exactly as I wrote them. Or start a New chat and try again. |
| It added a reason or an apology | That's the thing you're checking for. Delete it when you use the note. |
Stop / don't
If the thing you want to rewrite is about health, money you owe, a court or benefits letter, or taxes, a stop card applies. Don't paste it. Close the chat and use the card's "do this instead."
Brake: Oops steps if something private went in · New chat to start clean · shared computer → Log out before you walk away.
Leave it out. Then book a free 15-minute consult and we'll sort it out together — no pasting required.