Library › Study AI › College students
Prep exam ID terms in the who-what-when-why format
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your American History midterm has ID questions graded on who/what, when and why it matters. Get exactly 3 numbered lines, one per term your professor listed, each in the form 'Term: who/what | when | why it matters', each under 28 words, plain text. Use only your lecture notes, including the corrected date for the Homestead Act.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Asking for definitions. The AI defines each term but often skips why it matters, which is half the points. Try: Show the shape: "Term: who/what | when | why it matters".
- Not saying how many lines. The AI picks its own number, and it usually picks more lines than you need. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 3 numbered lines."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over. Try: Cap each part: "each part under 9 words."
- Missing the correction. Your wrong date is still in the material. Try: Add: "Homestead Act is 1862, per Prof. Whitaker."
- Letting in outside facts. The AI knows a lot of history and may add it. Try: Add: "Only my lecture notes."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says how many terms
- Shows the line shape
- Uses the correction
- Sets a length limit
- Says to use only the material
Related exercises
- Announce a referral bonus with the steps to claim it (Marketing AI · HR and recruiting)
- Announce a team meeting change people will actually follow (Writing AI · Managers and team leads)
- Answer a 'found an error' question in STAR order (Writing AI · Finance and accounting)
- Answer a wholesale inquiry with clear terms (Writing AI · Small business owners)
- Answer an RFP timeline question in exactly four phases (Writing AI · Sales and customer success)