Explain it simply, then check I got it

Prompt

Teach me [topic, e.g. how vaccines train the immune system]. My level: [your level, e.g. curious adult, no biology since school].

Teach it in this order:
1. The big idea in 2-3 plain sentences. If a technical term is unavoidable, define it in the same sentence.
2. How it works, in a few short steps that build on what I'm likely to know already.
3. One everyday analogy, then exactly where the analogy stops being accurate.
4. One concrete example or worked case.
5. The 2-3 most common misunderstandings, each corrected in one line.

Keep this part under 350 words.

Then check my understanding with 3 questions, one at a time, from easy to harder. Make the last one ask me to apply the idea to a new situation. After each answer, tell me what I got right, correct what I got wrong in a sentence or two, and only then ask the next question.

If the topic or my level in square brackets is still unfilled, ask me for them before you start.

Variation: Five levels

Explain [topic, e.g. inflation] at five levels, each one building on the last:

1. A curious 10-year-old: one simple picture of the idea.
2. A high-school student: the basic mechanism, with an everyday example.
3. A university student: the proper terms, and how the parts interact.
4. A practitioner: the trade-offs, edge cases and where simple explanations go wrong.
5. An expert: open questions, debates or the current frontier.

Keep each level to 3-5 sentences. Each level should still be true, only less detailed, so a later level never has to contradict an earlier one. Say so if a level contains a deliberate simplification.

End by asking me which level felt right, and offer to go deeper from there.

If the topic in square brackets is still unfilled, ask me for it before you start.

Variation: Exam prep

Help me prepare for an exam on [topic, e.g. cellular respiration] in [time left, e.g. 3 days]. Course and level: [your course, e.g. first-year university biology].

Give me:
1. The core ideas I must understand, ranked by how likely they are to be tested.
2. The definitions and formulas I must know, as a compact list I can memorize.
3. The 3 question types most likely to come up, each with a worked example and a model answer.
4. The mistakes that most often cost marks on this topic, and how to avoid each one.
5. A study plan for the time I have left, in short daily blocks built on practice questions and active recall rather than rereading.

Then ask whether I want to start a practice quiz. If my syllabus or past papers would help, say so, and use them if I paste them.

If any detail in square brackets is still unfilled, ask me for it before you start.

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