What each part of the prompt does
- The real exam's format
- Question types, mark values and timing shape how you should study. Practising in the same structure builds the pacing you need on the day, not just knowledge of the content.
- Wrong options from real mistakes
- Distractors built on common errors make multiple choice hard in the way real papers are hard. Silly options let you score well without understanding, which gives a false sense of readiness.
- Answer key below the line
- Step 5 keeps the paper clean so you can attempt it without spotting answers. Scroll only as far as the line, set a timer, write on paper, then mark yourself.
- Topic map
- Mapping questions to topics shows whether lost marks cluster in one area. That points to what to revise next, which a total score on its own cannot tell you.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Quick 15-minute quiz Write a practice exam on the material below, with a separate answer key and marking guide, so I can test myself under exam conditions. Inputs: - Course and level: [COURSE] - Topics or chapters covered: [TOPICS] - My notes or the syllabus section (optional, but better): [MATERIAL] - Real exam format: [FORMAT] - Time allowed: 15 minutes - Topics I find hardest: [WEAK TOPICS] Steps: 1. Write ten short questions that mix the real exam's question types and can be finished in 15 minutes. 2. Spread questions across all the topics, with extra weight on my weakest ones. 3. Order questions from recall to application to analysis, the way most exams build difficulty. 4. For multiple choice, base the wrong options on common mistakes, not obviously silly answers. 5. Print the whole exam first with no answers or hints anywhere in it. 6. After a line that says ANSWER KEY BELOW, give each correct answer, the marks for each step, and the mistake that would lose marks. Format: - Exam: numbered questions with marks in brackets, and the total marks and time at the top. - Answer key: the same numbering, model answers, a marking breakdown, and one line on the concept each question tests. - A table at the end mapping each question to its topic, so I can see where I lost marks. Quality check: Confirm every question can be answered from the topics listed and that the marks add up to the stated total.
Essay paper Write a practice exam on the material below, with a separate answer key and marking guide, so I can test myself under exam conditions. Inputs: - Course and level: [COURSE] - Topics or chapters covered: [TOPICS] - My notes or the syllabus section (optional, but better): [MATERIAL] - Real exam format: [FORMAT] - Time allowed: [TIME] - Topics I find hardest: [WEAK TOPICS] Steps: 1. Match the real exam's format: the same question types, mark values and total, scaled to fit the time allowed. 2. Spread questions across all the topics, with extra weight on my weakest ones. 3. Order questions from recall to application to analysis, the way most exams build difficulty. 4. For essay questions, write prompts that need an argument rather than a summary, using the command words the real exam uses (evaluate, compare, discuss). 5. Print the whole exam first with no answers or hints anywhere in it. 6. After a line that says ANSWER KEY BELOW, give each correct answer, the marks for each step, and the mistake that would lose marks. Format: - Exam: numbered questions with marks in brackets, and the total marks and time at the top. - Answer key: the same numbering, a plan for a top answer, the points that earn marks, what separates a top grade from a middle one, and one line on the concept each question tests. - A table at the end mapping each question to its topic, so I can see where I lost marks. Quality check: Confirm every question can be answered from the topics listed and that the marks add up to the stated total.
If the result isn't right
- Copy a past paper's structure into [FORMAT], down to the mark values; the closer the match, the more your practice score means.
- Mark yourself strictly with the guide, then paste your answers back and ask Gemini to explain each mark you dropped.
- Generate a fresh paper every few days with an updated [WEAK TOPICS] list; that list should shrink as revision works.