How to use these prompts

The most common mistake is asking the AI "explain X to me": you get a summary that you read, nod at and forget within an hour. Passive rereading retains a fraction of what active recall retains, that is, the effort of pulling the information out of memory. All the prompts below aim there: they make you produce, not consume.

A note on method: the AI can get a fact or a date wrong. For topics where accuracy matters (formulas, laws, historical data), verify the key points in the book or in an official source. The AI is an excellent memory coach, a less reliable witness.

The prompt library

Explain to me and then quiz me (Feynman method)

You are my tutor on this topic. Proceed in three phases:
1. Explain it to me as if I were 14, with a concrete analogy.
2. Then ask me three questions, one at a time, to check if I understood.
3. When I answer, tell me where I'm wrong and have me re-explain in my
   own words the point I missed.
Don't move on to the next question until I've answered.

Topic:

I explain, you find the gaps

Now I'll explain this topic to you in my own words. You play the role of
someone who knows nothing: listen, then point out the spots where my
explanation is confused, incomplete or wrong. Don't fill the gaps
yourself: ask me questions that force me to fill them on my own.

My explanation:

Quiz of increasing difficulty

Create me a quiz of 8 questions on this topic, from easiest to hardest.
Give them to me one at a time. After each of my answers, tell me whether
it's right or wrong and why, then move on to the next. At the end give
me the score and the two topics to review.

Topic and level (e.g. high school, university, basic):

Spaced review plan

Build me a review plan with increasing intervals to learn this material
by the date I give you. Divide it into sessions with specific days,
indicate what to review in each and why those intervals (spaced recall).
For each session add two check questions.

Material, level and exam date:

Reduce to flashcards

Turn this text into question-answer flashcards for memorizing. A sharp
question on the front, the short answer on the back. Focus on the
concepts that get forgotten, not on the obvious ones. Format: "Q: ... / A: ..."
one per line.

Text:

A concrete example

Sara has a private law exam in ten days and three chapters to nail. She first uses the review plan, giving "private law, university, exam in 10 days". The AI builds her six sessions: a new chapter every two days, recall of the previous one in between, a global review on the last day.

In the sessions she alternates two prompts. For the fresh concepts she uses "I explain, you find the gaps": she tries to recite the difference between an obligation and a contract, the AI flags that she's confused a point, she re-explains it. For consolidation she uses the quiz of increasing difficulty. Three days before the exam she notices she always stumbles on the statute of limitations: she asks the AI to build her only flashcards on that theme. She arrives at the exam having produced the answers dozens of times, not having reread them.

When it does NOT work (and how to fix it)

If the AI gives you the answer instead of quizzing you

Reverting to "lecture mode" is the most frequent flaw: after two exchanges it starts pouring text again. Correct it: "Stop explaining. Your only task now is to quiz me and correct me, one question at a time". The value is in making you work, not in making you read.

If it gets a fact or a formula wrong

It happens on dates, formulas and figures. For exact subjects, paste the page of your book or a verified note and add "use only this material as a source, not your memory". This way the AI quizzes you on the right content instead of on an approximate version.

If the questions are too easy or too hard

If the level is wrong, it's usually because you didn't declare it. Say it explicitly: "university exam level, no middle-school textbook questions" or "start from the basics, take nothing for granted". The calibration adjusts in one line.

A tip from someone who actually uses it

Don't study with the AI at the end of the day as a tired spectator: the quizzing requires energy, and that's exactly where it's effective. Better twenty minutes of active quiz than two hours of reread explanations. And keep a study diary in a document of your own: at the end of each session, ask the AI to write in three lines what you got wrong. The next session, paste it back: it restarts from where you're limping, not from scratch.

Frequently asked questions

Does studying with AI make me lazy?

It depends on how you use it. If you ask it to do your homework, yes. If you use it to quiz and correct you, you work harder than with the book alone, because you have to produce answers instead of rereading. Laziness is asking for answers; studying is asking for questions.

Can I use it to help my children study?

Yes, with an adult present. The AI is an excellent quizzing companion, but it can get a fact wrong and a child won't notice. You set up the tutor prompt, check the first answers, and use the tool under your eye: no filter replaces a parent who follows along.

Do I really memorize more or is it just a feeling?

More, and it's not a feeling. The leap isn't made by the AI, it's made by the method it forces you to use: active recall and spaced review beat rereading in every study on learning. The AI makes that method easy to follow every day, and that's where it changes the result.