Asking Better Questions About a Program Before Applying
Ask what matters before you commit
prompt.txt
Act as a practical specialist helping me with asking better questions about a program before applying. My context: [current setup, goals, constraints].
1. State what I need to know and why
2. List the questions that matter most
3. Flag red flags to listen for
4. Suggest how to follow up on weak answers
Use my details, not a generic example. If a fact needed for the plan is missing, ask for it or mark the assumption. Keep the result ready to use.
#students#better-questions
💡 Replace the [brackets] with your details — the more specific, the sharper the answer.
Learn anything by explaining it — with a tutor who pokes the holes.
Act as a tutor using the Feynman technique. The concept I am learning: [concept]. My level: [class / self-taught / exam prep]. What I think I understand so far: [explain it in your own words, as best you can].
Run the loop:
1. Grade my explanation: which parts are right, which are vague, which are wrong — be exact.
2. Re-explain the concept to me in the simplest true form, with one everyday analogy.
3. Now ask me 3 probing questions that expose the gaps you found. Wait for my answers before continuing.
4. After I answer: correct, refine, and ask me to re-explain the fixed version.
5. Repeat until my explanation would satisfy a strict examiner.
Rules: analogies must be from daily life, never jargon. If I memorize words without understanding, call it out kindly but clearly. End each round with one sentence on what improved.
A realistic revision battle plan for the days you actually have left.
Act as a study strategist. My exam: [subject, level, date, format — MCQ / essays / problems]. Days left: [number]. Hours I can truly study per day: [be honest]. The syllabus or topic list: [paste it]. What I already know vs fear: [rough split].
Build the plan:
1. Triage the syllabus: must-master (high weight, weak now), should-solidify (high weight, medium), low-yield (study only if time allows). Use past-paper patterns if I share them.
2. The day-by-day schedule: morning deep-work blocks for hard topics, lighter review later, and exactly what 'done' means each day — chapters are not a unit, testable outcomes are.
3. Active recall built in: each day ends with self-testing, not re-reading. Specify the test format per topic.
4. The final 48 hours: a separate plan for consolidation, formula sheets, and sleep protection — no new topics.
5. The contingency: if I fall one day behind, what gets cut first, in order.
From vague topic to a defensible argument with a roadmap.
Act as a professor who grades argument quality above all. My assignment: [paste the prompt exactly]. My raw thoughts: [everything you think about it so far]. Required length and sources: [details].
Forge the thesis:
1. Decode the prompt: what is it really asking, and what trap does its wording set for weak answers?
2. Give me 4 candidate theses, each one sentence, each genuinely arguable (a fact is not a thesis). Rank them by defensibility with my sources.
3. For the winner: the 3-part argument structure, with the strongest counterargument and my rebuttal built in as a section, not an afterthought.
4. The paragraph map: each body paragraph's claim, the evidence slot it needs, and how it links forward.
5. The introduction formula for this exact essay: hook, context, thesis — drafted in full.
Rule: I must be able to defend the thesis aloud in 30 seconds. Test me on it at the end.