Learn anything fast with Claude as your tutor
Eleven prompts that turn Claude into a patient tutor. Map a topic, learn at your level, explain it back, get quizzed and plan your reviews.
How to use
- 1Open claude.ai or the Claude app and start a new chat. The free plan works for every prompt here.
- 2Run the prompts in order the first time. Prompt 1 builds a map that the later prompts use.
- 3Replace everything in [SQUARE BRACKETS] with your own details before you send it.
- 4Keep one chat per topic, so Claude can see everything you've covered. A new chat doesn't have the old chat in front of it. Claude's memory may carry a few details across, but don't rely on it for your lessons.
- 5If you're learning for weeks, create a Project at claude.ai/projects. Click the + button in its project knowledge panel and add your topic map, so every chat in the Project can use it.
- 6Claude can be wrong. Check any fact that matters (a dose, a law, a number) against a trusted source.
The prompts
Map the topic
Use this first, before you learn anything, to see the whole topic and where to start.
You are an expert teacher and curriculum designer for [TOPIC]. I want to learn it, and I need a map before I start. Before you make the map, ask me three questions, one at a time. Wait for my answer each time. 1. What I want to be able to do with [TOPIC] when I finish. 2. What I already know about it. 3. How much time I have each week. Then give me the map in this shape: 1. A one-paragraph plain-English description of what [TOPIC] is and why people use it. 2. A numbered list of 6 to 10 core ideas, in the order I should learn them. For each one, give a one-sentence description and mark any idea that depends on an earlier one. 3. The three ideas that matter most for my goal, and why. 4. Three misconceptions beginners often have about [TOPIC]. 5. One checkpoint question per core idea. I should be able to answer it once I understand that idea. Leave the answers out. 6. A rough estimate of how many weeks this will take at my pace, with your reasoning. Explain every technical term the first time you use it. If my goal is unrealistic for the time I have, tell me plainly and suggest a smaller goal.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Save the map. You'll paste it into later prompts.
- If the map feels too big, reply with: Cut this to the five ideas I need for my goal.
Find my starting point
Use this after the map, so Claude teaches from what you know and skips what you already have.
You are a tutor checking what I already know about [TOPIC] before we start lessons. Here is my topic map: <map> [PASTE THE MAP FROM PROMPT 1] </map> Give me a short diagnostic quiz. 1. Ask 6 questions, one at a time. Start easy and get harder. 2. Mix the types: one plain recall question, some 'explain why' questions and at least one 'what would happen if' question. 3. After each answer, say only 'Got it' and ask the next question. Hold back the answers and feedback until the end, so I do not get steered. 4. At the end, give me a table with columns: Question, What I got right, What I missed, Core idea it tests. 5. Then tell me which core idea from the map I should start with, and why. If I say 'I don't know', treat that as a useful answer and move on.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Guessing is fine. A wrong guess shows Claude exactly what to teach.
- Answer from memory. Looking things up hides the gaps you want to find.
Teach me one idea at my level
Use this for each core idea on your map, one idea per session.
You are a patient, encouraging tutor. Teach me one idea: [CORE IDEA] from [TOPIC]. About me: [YOUR LEVEL, FOR EXAMPLE 'COMPLETE BEGINNER' OR 'I USE THIS AT WORK BUT NEVER LEARNT THE BASICS']. I learn best from [EXAMPLES / PICTURES DESCRIBED IN WORDS / STEP BY STEP / STORIES]. Teach it like this: 1. Explain the idea in under 150 words, in plain English. Define any term the first time you use it. 2. Give one concrete everyday example. 3. Give one analogy, then say where the analogy stops being accurate. 4. Ask me one question that checks I understood. Wait for my answer. 5. If I get it right, ask me a slightly harder question. If I get it wrong, give me a hint first and let me try again before you explain. Keep each reply short so we can go back and forth. End every reply with a question for me until I can explain the idea myself. If you are unsure about a fact, say so.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Say 'slower' or 'go deeper' at any point. Claude will adjust.
- Ask for a diagram drawn with text characters if a picture would help.
Explain it back to me (the Feynman test)
Use this when you think you understand an idea and want to prove it.
I am going to explain [CORE IDEA] in my own words, as if I were teaching a curious 12-year-old. You are a strict but kind examiner. Your job is to find the gaps in my understanding. My explanation: <my_explanation> [WRITE YOUR EXPLANATION HERE. NO NOTES, NO LOOKING THINGS UP.] </my_explanation> Grade it in this shape: 1. What I got right, quoting my words. 2. What I left out that matters, listed by importance. 3. Anything I said that is wrong or misleading, with the correct version. 4. Any technical word I used that I may not understand. Ask me to define each one in plain words. 5. A score from 1 to 5, where 5 means I could teach this to a beginner. 6. The single most useful thing to fix before I try again. Be honest. If my explanation is vague, say it is vague and show me the sentence. Then ask me to explain it again with the gaps fixed, and grade the second try against the first.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Explaining from memory shows you what you really know. Run this for every core idea on your map.
- Do it out loud first if writing feels slow, then type what you said.
Help me work it out myself
Use this when you are stuck on a problem and want to learn how to solve it, so you can do the next one alone.
You are a tutor who teaches by asking questions. I am stuck on this problem: <problem> [PASTE THE PROBLEM, QUESTION OR TASK] </problem> What I have tried so far: [WHAT YOU TRIED, OR 'NOTHING YET']. Rules for this session: 1. Keep the full answer back, even if I ask for it, until I have made two honest attempts. 2. Ask me one guiding question at a time. Wait for my reply. 3. If I am stuck after a question, give a small hint. Make each hint a little more specific than the last. 4. When I make a mistake, ask me to check that step myself before you point it out. 5. Once I solve it, show me the cleanest way to solve it, and name the general method so I can spot it in other problems.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- If you really need the answer now, say 'I have tried twice, show me.'
- Ask for a second problem of the same type straight after, to lock the method in.
Fix my confusion
Use this when something does not make sense and you cannot say why.
I am confused about [THE THING] in [TOPIC]. Here is what I currently think it means, even if it is wrong: <what_i_think> [YOUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING, IN YOUR OWN WORDS] </what_i_think> The part that does not make sense to me: [WHAT FEELS WRONG OR CONTRADICTORY]. Please: 1. Tell me which parts of my understanding are correct. 2. Find the exact belief that is causing my confusion and name it. 3. Explain the correct idea in under 120 words, using a different example from any I have seen. 4. Give me one quick question to check the confusion is gone. If my confusion comes from a real ambiguity in the subject, tell me that too.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tip
- Write down what you think, even if it's wrong. Claude can only fix a belief it can see.
Quiz me
Use this a day or more after a lesson, to make the idea stick.
You are my quizmaster for [TOPIC]. Quiz me on these ideas: [LIST THE CORE IDEAS, OR PASTE YOUR MAP]. How to run it: 1. Ask 10 questions, one at a time. Wait for each answer. 2. Mix the types: recall, explain why, spot the mistake in a statement, and apply it to a new situation. 3. After each answer, tell me if I was right, give the correct answer in one or two sentences, and keep a running score. 4. If I get two in a row right, make the next one harder. If I get one wrong, ask an easier question on the same idea next. 5. At the end, list the ideas I am weakest on and suggest when to quiz them again. Write the questions so I have to produce the answer from memory. Avoid multiple choice unless I ask for it.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Pulling an answer from memory strengthens it more than rereading your notes.
- Getting questions wrong is part of it. The misses tell you what to review.
Learn from a document or video transcript
Use this when you have a specific article, PDF, chapter or video to learn from.
You are a tutor helping me learn from one source. Here it is: <source> [PASTE THE TEXT OR TRANSCRIPT HERE, OR ATTACH THE FILE] </source> My goal with this source: [WHAT YOU WANT TO GET FROM IT]. Work through it like this: 1. Quote the 5 to 8 passages that matter most for my goal. For each quote, explain in one or two plain sentences what it means. 2. Summarise the whole source in 5 bullet points. 3. List any terms the source uses without explaining, with a plain definition of each. 4. Tell me anything in the source that looks doubtful, outdated or one-sided. 5. Then quiz me with 5 questions, one at a time, using only what is in the source. Stick to the source. If I ask about something it does not cover, say 'The source does not cover this' and then give your own answer, clearly labelled as yours.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- If a YouTube video has captions, you can often open its transcript from below the video and copy it. Not every video has one.
- You can attach a PDF by dragging it into the chat.
- Very long sources work better in chunks. Paste one chapter at a time.
Make me flashcards
Use this when you want cards for a flashcard app or for paper cards.
Make flashcards for [TOPIC OR CORE IDEA] from this material: <material> [PASTE YOUR NOTES, THE MAP OR THE SOURCE] </material> Rules for good cards: 1. One fact or idea per card. 2. The front is a question I must answer from memory. Avoid yes or no questions. 3. The back is the shortest correct answer, under 20 words. 4. Include some 'why' cards and some 'example' cards, as well as definitions. 5. Make 15 to 25 cards. Give them as a two-column table with the headings Front and Back. After the table, tell me which three cards are the hardest and why.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Many flashcard apps can import cards from a spreadsheet. Anki, for example, imports a spreadsheet saved as a CSV file. Check your app's import help first.
- Rewrite any card you don't understand in your own words.
Plan my spaced practice
Use this once you have learnt a few ideas, so you review them before you forget.
You are a learning coach. Build me a review plan for [TOPIC] that spaces my practice out over time. What I have learnt so far, with the date I first learnt each: [LIST EACH IDEA AND ITS DATE, FOR EXAMPLE 'COMPOUND INTEREST, 3 MARCH'] My time: [MINUTES PER DAY] minutes on [DAYS YOU ARE FREE]. Today's date: [DATE]. Build the plan like this: 1. Review each idea about 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month after I first learnt it. Spread the reviews so no day goes over my time limit. 2. Give me a table with columns: Date, Ideas to review, What to do, Minutes. 3. In 'What to do', start with recall from memory (a quiz or an explain-back), then checking my notes. 4. Add a short rule for what to do when I miss a day. 5. If my plan does not fit my time, tell me and suggest what to drop. Keep it simple enough to follow on a busy week.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tips
- Paste the plan into your calendar or notes app so you see it each day.
- If an idea feels easy at every review, ask Claude to space it further apart.
Final check: can I really use it
Use this at the end of a topic to test whether you can apply what you learnt.
You are an examiner. I have been learning [TOPIC] with this goal: [YOUR GOAL FROM PROMPT 1]. Here is my map, marked with what I have covered: <map> [PASTE THE MAP] </map> Test me with a realistic task, close to what I want to do in real life. 1. Describe the situation and the task. Make it something I have not seen in our lessons. 2. Let me work through it. Ask follow-up questions, one at a time, to probe my reasoning. 3. Then grade me against my goal: Ready, Nearly ready or Not yet. 4. List the specific gaps that stopped me, linked to the ideas on the map. 5. Give me a short plan for the next two weeks that closes those gaps. Be honest. A kind 'Not yet' is more useful to me than a generous 'Ready'.
Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.
Tip
- Run this again in a month. It shows you what has stuck.