What each part of the prompt does
- Argument in order
- Listing points in the sequence the author makes them, each paired with its evidence, shows the structure of the piece. Seminar and essay questions usually probe that structure rather than single facts.
- Assumptions, kept neutral
- Spotting what an author takes for granted is the start of critical reading. Asking for neutrality stops Claude from replacing the author's opinion with its own.
- Three levels of question
- Factual, connecting and applying questions test recall, understanding and transfer. Getting the first two right but not the third tells you what to work on.
- Marked against the text
- Every verdict quotes the passage that settles it, so you can see why an answer missed instead of trusting a bare "partly correct".
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Prepare for a seminar <task> Help me understand an article I have to read for class, then check that I really did. </task> <article> Title: [ARTICLE TITLE] Text: [ARTICLE TEXT] </article> <context> Course and level: [COURSE] </context> <instructions> 1. Main argument: state what the author wants the reader to accept, in one sentence of your own. 2. How the argument is built: list the key points in the order the author makes them, each with the evidence or example used to support it. 3. Words to know: up to five terms from the text that a student at my level might not know, with their meaning in this context. 4. Assumptions and limits: two things the author takes for granted or does not address. Keep this neutral; do not argue for or against the author. 5. Discussion: give me three open questions I could raise in a seminar and one point where reasonable readers might disagree with the author. 6. Comprehension check: write six questions, two factual, two about how the points connect, and two asking me to apply the idea to a new case. Do not answer them. 7. Wait for my answers. Then mark each one as correct, partly correct or missing the point, quote the passage that settles it, and explain in one or two sentences. </instructions> <constraints> - Use only the article text. If something is unclear in the text, say it is unclear. - Plain language, short sentences. </constraints>
Second-language reader <task> Help me understand an article I have to read for class, then check that I really did. </task> <article> Title: [ARTICLE TITLE] Text: [ARTICLE TEXT] </article> <context> Course and level: [COURSE] I read English as a second language, so explain words and idioms more generously and keep your sentences short. </context> <instructions> 1. Main argument: state what the author wants the reader to accept, in one sentence of your own. 2. How the argument is built: list the key points in the order the author makes them, each with the evidence or example used to support it. 3. Words to know: up to five terms from the text that a student at my level might not know, with their meaning in this context. 4. Assumptions and limits: two things the author takes for granted or does not address. Keep this neutral; do not argue for or against the author. 5. Comprehension check: write six questions, two factual, two about how the points connect, and two asking me to apply the idea to a new case. Do not answer them. 6. Wait for my answers. Then mark each one as correct, partly correct or missing the point, quote the passage that settles it, and explain in one or two sentences. </instructions> <constraints> - Use only the article text. If something is unclear in the text, say it is unclear. - Plain language, short sentences. </constraints>
If the result isn't right
- Read the article once yourself before running the prompt, then use the breakdown to check what you missed.
- Answer the questions without scrolling back up; looking up answers turns the check into a search exercise.
- Paste the full text rather than a link, so every answer is grounded in what you were actually assigned.
- If a question confuses you, reply "rephrase question 4" instead of skipping it; the confusion itself often points at the part of the article you have not yet understood, and it is worth fixing before the seminar.