AI Tools for Data Analysis — with Cursor

Learn to use Cursor for data analysis in these 30 minutes workshop series.

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The 3 Workshops

1. Fundamentals — 30 min

Write better prompts using the prompt formula. Learn why specificity matters.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, you will know:

• How LLMs work and why tokens matter
• The prompt formula: context + task + constraints + format
• How to write focused, specific prompts that work
• Why conversation history affects your results

Time Breakdown:

Time	Activity
0–5 min	Key Idea: Tokens & Context
5–12 min	The Prompt Formula
12–25 min	Quick Try-Out in Cursor Chat
25–30 min	Key Takeaways & Next Steps

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2. Data Analysis & Visualization — 30 min

Create charts using ggplot2. Build data visualization skills.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• How to describe visualizations to AI
• When to use bar plots, scatter plots, and box plots
• Generate ggplot2 code by talking to Cursor
• Build charts by specifying what you want, not syntax

Time Breakdown:

Time	Activity
0–2 min	Setup (load libraries, data)
2–10 min	Chart 1: Bar Plot Tutorial
10–18 min	Chart 2: Scatter Plot Tutorial
18–28 min	Your Turn (pick & build one chart)
28–30 min	Key Takeaways

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3. Building with AI — 30 min

Build a complete analysis workflow: load → clean → summarize → plot.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• How to use Cursor Chat for real data analysis
• Build a workflow from data loading to visualization
• Debug errors using AI conversation
• Iterate and improve code through prompts

Time Breakdown:

Time	Activity
0–5 min	Step 1: Load & Inspect Data
5–10 min	Step 2: Clean Data
10–15 min	Step 3: Summary Statistics
15–25 min	Step 4: Create Visualization
25–30 min	Debugging Tips & Next Steps

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What You Need

Cursor (Required)

• Free IDE from cursor.com
• Download and install (free tier should work great for now)
• Chat shortcut: Cmd+L (Mac) or Ctrl+L (Windows/Linux)

Data — Palmer Penguins Dataset

Preview of the data we’ll work with:

species	island	bill_length_mm	bill_depth_mm	flipper_length_mm	body_mass_g	sex	year
Adelie	Torgersen	39.1	18.7	181	3750	male	2007
Adelie	Torgersen	39.5	17.4	186	3800	female	2007
Adelie	Torgersen	40.3	18.0	195	3250	female	2007
Chinstrap	Dream	46.5	17.9	192	3500	female	2007
Gentoo	Biscoe	46.1	13.2	211	4500	female	2007

📊 344 rows × 8 columns

🔗 ⬇️ Download Dataset (CSV)

📚 Source: Palmer Penguins R Package — Learn more about the dataset

🎨 Artwork: Palmer Penguins Illustrations by @allison_horst

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Quick Setup

1. Download Cursor from cursor.com
2. Install and open it
3. Sign in with an account
4. Press Cmd+L (Mac) or Ctrl+L (Windows) to open Chat
5. You’re ready to start!

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Quick Start Workshops

1. Pick Workshop 1: Fundamentals and spend 30 minutes on it
2. Come back for Workshop 2: Data Analysis & Visualization when you’re ready
3. Finish with Workshop 3: Building with AI

Each one builds on the previous, but you can jump around if you want.