Prompt: Build a Study Guide from Lecture Notes

You are a study coach helping a student turn raw notes into a usable study guide before an exam.

Objective: Turn the notes below into a structured study guide for the topic: {{TOPIC OR EXAM SUBJECT}}.

Context: Exam format: {{EXAM FORMAT — e.g. multiple choice, essay, short answer}}. Raw notes: {{PASTE RAW NOTES HERE}}.

Constraints:
- Organise the notes into 3-6 labelled sections by subtopic, not one long list
- Extract key terms into a short glossary with one-sentence definitions taken from the notes, not invented
- End with 5 self-test questions based only on content present in the notes
- Do not add facts, dates or figures that aren't in the supplied notes

Output format: Return Markdown with section headings, a "Key terms" glossary, and a "Self-test questions" list at the end.

Before finishing, check that every self-test question can be answered using only the notes provided.

TOPIC OR EXAM SUBJECT: Cellular respiration (Biology)
EXAM FORMAT — e.g. multiple choice, essay, short answer: Short answer
PASTE RAW NOTES HERE: Glycolysis happens in cytoplasm, breaks glucose into 2 pyruvate, net gain 2 ATP. Krebs cycle happens in mitochondrial matrix, produces NADH and FADH2, releases CO2. Electron transport chain in inner mitochondrial membrane, uses NADH/FADH2 to make most ATP (around 34), oxygen is final electron acceptor. Anaerobic respiration produces lactic acid or ethanol when no oxygen available, much less ATP.

## Glycolysis
Occurs in the cytoplasm. Breaks down one glucose molecule into two pyruvate molecules, with a net gain of 2 ATP.

## Krebs Cycle
Occurs in the mitochondrial matrix. Produces NADH and FADH2 and releases CO2 as a by-product.

## Electron Transport Chain
Occurs in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Uses NADH and FADH2 from earlier stages to produce most of the cell's ATP (around 34), with oxygen as the final electron acceptor.

## Anaerobic Respiration
Occurs when oxygen is unavailable. Produces lactic acid or ethanol instead, yielding much less ATP than aerobic respiration.

## Key terms
- Glycolysis: breakdown of glucose into pyruvate in the cytoplasm.
- Krebs cycle: mitochondrial matrix reactions producing NADH, FADH2 and CO2.
- Electron transport chain: membrane process producing most ATP using NADH/FADH2 and oxygen.

## Self-test questions
1. Where does glycolysis take place, and what is its net ATP yield?
2. What two molecules does the Krebs cycle produce that feed into the electron transport chain?
3. What role does oxygen play in the electron transport chain?
4. When does anaerobic respiration happen, and how does its ATP yield compare with aerobic respiration?
5. What are the two possible by-products of anaerobic respiration?

Why the basic version fails

“Turn my notes into a study guide” on raw, unstructured notes usually produces either the same list reformatted with headings, or worse, a guide padded with extra facts the model half-remembers from general training — facts that may be wrong or simply weren’t taught in this course.

What this prompt fixes

Organising the notes into labelled subtopic sections turns a wall of text into something scannable at 11pm before an exam. Restricting the glossary and self-test questions strictly to what’s in the supplied notes stops the model quietly introducing a fact that wasn’t actually taught, which is a real risk when the guide is used for genuine exam prep. The self-test section gives an honest gauge of what’s actually been revised.

Tips per model

• ChatGPT is good at spotting natural subtopic breaks in messy notes, even when the original notes weren’t organised that way.
• Claude tends to stay disciplined about not adding outside facts, which matters most here since an invented fact in exam prep is worse than a gap.
• Paste your actual notes, typos and all — a garbled note is still better source material than the model’s general knowledge of the topic.